Senator Orwoba, Zubeida Kananu lock horns in spat over media freedom

She stated that false information in the media has a negative impact on society, citing the recent political-media outrage exchange.

“The main role of the media is to inform the public with precise and accurate information. Problems of verbal altercation between the media and political figures arises when the media fails to portray its role of providing accurate information which can be substantiated with facts,” she said.

In light of the inaccuracy, Zubeiba Kananu, president of the Kenya Editors Guild (KEG), challenged the senator to provide at least one inaccurate media report.

Zubeida defended the media, stating that the media's critical role is to verify information before publishing it.

“I want the senator here to provide me with one report that was false and untrue, until then I shall come to terms with their allegations. The only time I will rest is when a politician will provide concrete proof that the information we give to the public is false and unverified.” She said.

“Instead of providing proof, they resort to insults in the social media platforms belittling our performance as the media fraternity. They undermine our objectives in the social media platforms. I want to challenge the senator, how comes the government reacted to the scandals the media broadcasted by firing the unscrupulous officials, why did the government react?” she posed.

Orwoba responded by stating unequivocally that a news article published by the Nation Media Group (NMG) about the government borrowing large sums of money in a short period of time was inaccurate and unverified.

The discussion became even more tangled when Orwoba suggested that the other parties on the panel are allies of the Orange and Democratic Movement (ODM).

She was accused of making direct and unambiguous assumptions about the panel's members' affiliations.

“Today sitting here I can outrightly say that the people sitting here are members of the ODM party I am the only one allied to Kenya Kwanza coalition,” she said.

The statement forced the discussion's moderator, Mashirima Kapombe, to intervene and restore order to the panel.

Mashirima told the senator not to go off topic.

Erick Oduor, Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), also defended the media, stating that the media has reserved the right to publish stories of public interest.

Oduor appealed to the aggrieved leaders to use the right channel to criticize the media and desist from verbal altercations with the media.

“Our mandate as the media is to speak the truth. The uproar by the political class is a clear indication that we are doing a splendid job as the media,” Oduor said.