Supporting Safety of Journalists in Kenya: An Assessment Based on UNESCO's Journalists' Safety Indicators

"Threats to the safety of those doing journalism amount to censorship by intimidation and force. The results are widespread self-censorship and a public that is deprived of the right to know. The rule of law is weakened when citizens see the lack of protection and justice for those who use the right to free expression on a public platform." (Guy Berger, Director for Freedom of Expression and Media Development - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO))

This report documents the state of journalists' safety and the issue of impunity by providing an overview of the safety situation for journalists in Kenya and the responsibilities of all stakeholders in addressing the issue of journalists' safety in the country. The assessment is based on the Journalists' Safety Indicators (JSIs), a research tool developed under the auspices of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), which is governed by a 39-Member State intergovernmental council. Based on these key indicators, the findings provide a snapshot of a particular point in time, from which progress can be measured and areas for further work identified. As stated in the Foreword by Guy Berger, the kinds of points assessed by the JSI include: "Is there at least an overlap concerning statistics about cases [related to the safety of journalists] gathered by different agencies? Are police doing better in providing protection and in prosecuting attackers? Is government condemning killings and providing funding for dedicated judicial investigations? Do journalism schools teach safety to their students? Are media employers developing and implementing safety policies?"

The report is divided into five key JSI indicator categories (the indicators for each category are listed in each section). The first provides an overview of the safety situation of journalists looking at safety and impunity statistics. This is followed by research results categorised according to: the roles and response of State and political actors; the roles and response of civil society organisations (CSOs) and academia; the roles and response of media and intermediaries; and the roles and response of the United Nations system and other extra-national actors with a presence in the country.

The JSI study finds that although most journalists in the study (almost 75%) feel safe working as journalists in Kenya, they still face serious challenges in the course of their work. Both State and non-State actors have contributed to a deteriorating climate, with the number of threats, incidents of harassment and intimidation, and personal attacks having grown within the period under study (August 2014 through September 2015). As stated in the report, "The police (11 incidents), followed by State officials (seven incidents), mobs (six incidents), and politicians (five incidents) are listed as posing the most common threats against journalists."

In spite of these incidents, the report also highlights various initiatives such as the measures and strategies developed by the Kenya Media Working Group (KMWG), which show that issues related to the security and safety of journalists are important and that various institutions and individuals are proactively working towards making the working environment for journalists safer. "Moreover, even though organisations like Freedom House that conduct annual surveys on the state of press freedom ranked Kenya in 2015 only as partly free, [there] is an overarching view that the country's media environment is largely safe and remains robust and dynamic."

Nevertheless, the research concludes "that the safety of journalists in Kenya is not fully guaranteed and press freedom has significantly declined in the past one year. This is despite the fact that the Constitution of Kenya 2010 guarantees both the freedom of expression and of the media and that Kenya has made significant democratic strides since the reintroduction of multiparty democracy in 1991." The legal amendments and insertions that government and politicians have tried to pass, and in some instances succeeded in passing, remain a concern for press freedom, as well as for media and journalists in Kenya.