CA’s Analogue Switch-off And The Subsequent Total Switch-off By Citizen TV, KTN, NTV and QTV In Protest Is The Worst Tragedy To Ever Hit Kenyans… These Are The Consequences We Are Likely To Face

The country is literally in total darkness after the Communication Authority of Kenya made good its threat and forcefully switched off major TV stations from analogue broadcasting, in what they say is a move aimed at moving to digital broadcasting.

The darkness was even increased further when Citizen TV, KTN, NTV and QTV went on to switch themselves off from even the digital platforms in protest of the manner in which the CA and the government is handling the whole delicate issue of digital migration.

This is where the whole problem began leading to squabbles that have now returned the country to the dark days. I mean days when information was scarce and was released to the public in bits when and as some individuals wanted.

The Kenyan government went ahead and gave foreign companies more frequencies to broadcast digitally, a move that did not go down well with major media players in the 254. These include companies that own Startimes and Gotv service providers which, according to the three major media houses in the country, are airing their content without their consent, effectively infringing on the copyright laws.

Their argument may seem like it is out of desire the negatively beat competition but a keen analysis into it will clearly tell you that there is more than what meets the eye. Something fishy is being peddled in the media industry in Kenya and it is like someone somewhere wants to put the fourth estate under their armpits like it is their purse.

RMS, NMG and SGL are protesting the limited number of frequencies allocated to them compared to what the government has allocated to the foreign companies. The big question is, why would the government allocate more frequencies to a foreign company at the expense of the local media players who understand the demographics of viewership and listenership in the republic? This prompts us to smell some foul play here and this is what has been the bone of contention that has seen court battles bitterly fought for justice to prevail.

When the four major TV stations put up a sponsored advert discouraging Kenyans from acquiring Gotv and Startimes decorders to get their content, the CA moved quickly and withdrew the license given to the media houses after terming the move negative competition and infringement of the free-t-o-air rule. This also explains why this cold blood between the CA and the four TV stations has accelerated the analogue switch off. This, to many Kenyans, is very detrimental.

And now after seeing how brutal and cruel the CA and the government are towards them, the four major TV stations in the country opted to switch themselves off from the digital platform to plunge the country into information-deficiency and what can be termed as limbo.

I have been scouring through the social media platforms and the internet in general to see what Kenyans have to say about the whole saga. While many are against the move by the CA to shut down analogue broadcasting, a few are still lingering in naivety and ignorance.

With all due respect, we cannot just afford to celebrate the move by CA to switch off analogue broadcasting not because it is benefiting Kenyans but because they the CA wants to impress China and South Africa at the expense of locals who have played a major role in uplifting the economy of this country.

I was disappointed particularly when my friend and college mate Kura Kipkura posted saying, “I hope my friends who have been asking me why I am ever glued to international news channels are now on the know.” Kura simply means he has never given a shit about the local media houses because he sees nothing in them.

Unfortunately, Kura will someday want NTV, KTN, Citizen or QTV to employ him because he is a journalist from Moi University. Before he even lands in CNN, BBC, CCTV, Al-Jazeera or Sky sports or wherever, he needs to prove himself from home. That is what the likes of Beatrice Marshall, Ramah Nyang, Ferdinand Omondi, Ng’endo Angela and even Esther Githui Yuati have done before they moved international.

Away from that, my father tells me that there was a time when the only media house in the country was KBC and that KBC couldn’t say anything without the mention of the then president, Daniel Moi. He also tells me that no one would dare criticize the Moi government because that would spell their doom.

He further alludes that Kenyans were deprived of information and that that is why there were extra-judicial killings and assassinations which couldn’t be reported. Whoever questioned or went against the regime would disappear never to appear again.

A lot happened in those days until media freedom was realized during the Kibaki reign. This explains why SK Macharia’s Radio Citizen was paralysed in 1998 when it tried to establish itself. There was monopoly of information then. Someone really decided when and how Kenyans got information.

Fast forward to today; the CA is trying to plunge us into those days. It has intentionally caused a kerfuffle by rocking horns with the three media houses, probably to please someone who has a lot of interest in the media industry in Kenya. We all know that.

Since yesterday, the country has literally been in the dark information-wise, as many don’t really know what is happening within and without. Even those who thought the social media would suffice are now seeing the logic behind why mainstream media is the main source of information in Kenya.

I once had a discussion with a colleague who for reasons well known to him told me that we no longer need the mainstream media now that bloggers like me and the social media exist. I digressed from the topic because I knew he did not understand the importance of mainstream media. Apart from setting the agenda, mainstream media is the biggest watchdog that Kenyans and the world. This is the benefit that Kenyans have been deprived of following the forceful shut down of analogue broadcasting.

One thing that appalls me and the like-minded ones is the fact that the four TV stations have not refused to comply to digital migration. They are willing to do it but have requested for more time to buy their own set-top boxes to be able to serve their customers effectively. Why then is the CA not giving them that time? What is this hurry for? Is something fishy cooking somewhere?

Kenya is in the dark. The watchdog benefit Kenyans have so enjoyed since the days of former President Mwai Kibaki has been taken away from them. I mean from us. Majority of the population who depend on analogue broadcasting and the four major TV stations live below the poverty line. Some live in abject poverty. What has the CA done to ensure that even as they switch to digital broadcasting the poor Kenyan is not left behind in this process? Absolutely nothing.

In fact it is now turning out that it is only Kenya where one has to pay to get information. This is what NTV, KTN, Citizen and QTV are fighting. They want to introduce their set-top boxes which you don’t pay anything to access their content.

Imagine what will happen when the media is not there to show us the ills happening in the society. Facebook, twitter, instagram, name them are not enough to show how many men rape their kids in Murang’a and kill them thereafter. They are not enough to tell us how many witches got burnt in Kisii for practicing what is deemed illegal. They are not enough to tell us how many perverted Maasai women went ahead to cut their girls against the directive that FGM is illegal in Kenya.

And even if they told us this, they wouldn’t expound it and bring it to perspective as the mainstream media would do.

Pictures speak louder than words. Moving pictures speak the loudest than still pictures. This explains why we need TV more than anything. We are not going to rely only on K24 and KBC for information. After all who these day and age watches KBC when Citizen, KTN, NTV, QTV and K24 are available? The international media is not going to cover a bestiality act in Kiambu where a man sleeps with his cow which he milks every day. It is not going to cover an incident where children with albinism along the Kenya-Tanzania border are trailed to be kidnapped for reasons well known.

It is our media that will do all this. This explains when unnecessary arrests are gonna take place, someone will rot in jail because there won’t be public outcry. Take for instance when Abraham Mutai was recently arrested. It was Larry Madowo who raised the alarm through NTV and rallied Kenyans to demand for the immediate release of Mutai.

This and many more are the reasons why the CA should reconsider its actions and settle its squabbles with the four media houses. Even those Kenyans who are happy about this move have now seen the damage that can be done without the fourth estate.

We need our watchdogs back. Lest we find ourselves in serious limbo. There is no way forward for Kenyans unless the four media houses are back on air ASAP.

My grandmother does not know what internet is. She depends entirely on NTV for information. She cannot be put in the dark for no apparent reason. She needs information because it is her sole right.

The Communication Authority should rescind its decision and reach an amicable solution with the four TV stations to save Kenyans. If this does not happen, watch this space. Blatant breakage of the law will be the order of the day as there is no media to keep people on toes.

Grab more land. Detain more Wadis without fair trial. Arrest more Alais. Eat more chicken. Brag more on how you killed others. This is you time. The media is nowhere. This is your time people. The dog has religiously watched on our behalf is dead. It is your time now to land on us with blows and kicks and insults and arrests and detentions and many other beastly acts. The CA killed the dogs.