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Identify the article in the constitution of Kenya 2010 that ensures journalists and media practitioners operate in an environment free of violence and intimidation

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PART A
Every Kenyan citizen is entitled to a right to operate in an environment free of violence and intimidation. More so for the members of the fifth column whose core responsibility is to be the watchdog for the society? This right to surveillance that is unhampered with is principally elicited in:
“Article (34) under CHAPTER FOUR – THE BILL OF RIGHTS.”

PART B

According to the access to information Act 2016, Every Citizen has the right of access to information held by the state and another person and where that information is required for the exercise or protection of nay right or fundamental freedom.
In July this year, communication authority of Kenya (CAK) director Francis Wanguci warned leaders and media houses against announcing election results alongside the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC), saying it was likely to trigger chaos. The media was only allowed to transmit results from the IEBC website.
Despite media houses having their own reporters trained on election reportage, they and comply with the CAK’s directive. In this way the public was denied adequate access to information since anomalies were later found out in the results and what followed was nullification of the presidential elections by the Supreme Court.
The media independency was also killed since the body was expected to come out with their own results without interference from the government.
It is worth noting that during and immediately after the Kenya General Elections on August 8th, the local media were careful not to mention tension during protests that were reported in some parts of Kenya including Kisumu and Kibera and other parts of Nairobi. This was due to the accusations and the media earlier received for fuelling violence in the 2007 post-election.
Hours before the august 8 election results were announced, a closed door meeting was held by a team from the National Super Alliance (NASA) where the team walked out the meeting. The media was not allowed in yet it was a matter of interest to the nation
The mainstream also seemed to have attempted to deny citizens the right to access to information leading to coverage from suspected area hit by violence. Instead for a while it was tagged “Githeri Media” after several sections of the media continuously ran the story of a Kayole man who was spotted eating and carrying Githeri in a plastic bag during elections.
However, one incident caused by a state body (Police) limiting access to information was the arrest of KTN Journalist Duncan Khaemba and Otieno Willis who were covering Kibera protests on August 12, for allegedly having in possession of bullet proof gear which was later confirmed as licensed.
After the nullification of presidential results, the local media has been reporting the actual temperatures on the ground, especially at a time when there have been frequent protests by NASA supporters.

REFERENCES
- The access to information Act 2016
- The constitution of Kenya (2010). Published by the National Council for Law Reporting with the authority of the Attorney General.
- The Standard Digital article “KTN reporter Duncan Khaemba arrested while covering Kibera protests,” (August 12, 2017).
- The Star Newspaper article “Don’t announce poll results before IEBC, Wangusi warns

ELVIS123 answered the question on November 12, 2017 at 04:56

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Identify the article in the constitution of Kenya 2010 that ensures journalists and media practitioners operate in an environment free of violence and intimidation

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