Kenya Correspondents Association Chairman William Oloo Janak has called on Kisumu journalists to practice non-partisan reporting to safeguard the country ahead of the 2017 general elections.
Mr Janak said this is the most volatile moment for journalists as most of their activities will take political angles.
Addressing the media practitioners on Wednesday during a workshop on elections organised by the IEBC, Janak shared the past experiences during the election periods, warning journalists to trade carefully.
He said Kisumu is one of the areas categorised as a violence hotspot during elections and both Kenyans and the international community will be watching on the media reports from the area.
He said: “During elections, journalists are intimidated, attacked and even banned from attending some coverage due to political interests. You remember the violence which rocked Kisumu in 2007? Some of it was a culmination of reports from the media, which even alluded that foreign police were deployed to attack opposition supporters.”
“At this time you have to portray high standards of professionalism and ethics, because when the public profiles you then you are in trouble. You are required to be impartial in your work and anything less than that will affect your work,” he added.
During the 2007 election, the media was blamed for fuelling violence through spreading the hate speech by politicians, and showing images of violence.
Janak however said laws have since been enacted to guide such reporting, a situation which may see journalists fined or jailed.
He urged journalists to keep brace with the laws guiding election reporting so as to avoid plunging the country into violence.
“We have seen a lot of reports which take partisan positions. These must stop. Journalists must be careful not only to the reports in the various media houses they work for, but also the posts they put on the social media as most of their followers trust in such posts due to their being journalists,” he said.
During the workshop organised in Kisumu, the journalists were also taken through the IEBC roadmap which will see the media actively involved in the election activities.