42% of Kenyan journalists face legal threats –Reuters Report

From Sola Ojo, Abuja

A new report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) released yesterday, February 23, has revealed that 42 percent of journalists and media professionals in Kenya have faced legal threats in the course of their work, including arrests, litigation and the shutdown of online platforms.

The report, titled “Weaponising the Law: Threats to Media Freedom in Kenya,” examines how legal provisions and processes were allegedly being used to intimidate, silence and economically weaken media actors despite constitutional guarantees of press freedom.

Conducted in partnership with ALT Advisory and Power Law Africa, the study drew on research into legislation, recent media freedom cases and consultations with journalists across the country, alongside input from Kenyan media and legal experts.

According to the findings, 48 percent of respondents identified journalist safety as one of the biggest legal threats to journalism in Kenya.

The report cited cases of threats, harassment, physical assaults and killings, attributing them to weak enforcement of existing legal protections.

It further stated that 65 percent of media professionals surveyed highlighted stronger legal protections as their top support needed to ensure journalism sustainability.

More than half of the respondents expressed a lack of confidence in the legal system’s ability to protect journalists reporting on sensitive issues.

The report identified six primary categories of legal threats: abuse of court processes, weak implementation of laws, regressive legislation, technology-facilitated harms, journalist safety and impunity, and challenges affecting media industry sustainability.

It also pointed to concerns over inadequate oversight of surveillance powers and the growing impact of cyber-related laws and digital harassment on media operations.

The foundation, therefore, called for coordinated action across Kenya’s media ecosystem to address the challenges.

Among its recommendations were strengthening the implementation of access to information and community media laws, reforming judicial processes to prevent abuse of court actions, addressing repressive legislation, mitigating technology-related harms and enhancing legal support mechanisms for journalists.

According to the Director of Media Freedom at the Foundation, Will Church, the report builds on the organisation’s 2023 global study on attacks against media freedom and provides a focused assessment of Kenya’s media landscape.