His Excellency Daniel arap Moi
President of the Republic of Kenya
Harambee House
Nairobi
Kenya
Fax: + 254 2 211 660
Vienna, 24 July 2002
Your Excellency,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, leading journalists and media executives is writing to express its support for the statement by the Kenyan Union of Journalists (KUJ) that the offence of criminal libel should be abolished under the new Kenyan constitution.
According to an article posted on allAfrica.com, dated 17 July, the KUJ told the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC), that the laws of contempt and criminal libel are “anachronistic and serve no useful purpose in a constitutional democracy”. In the same presentation, the journalists’ organization said, “Freedom of expression is rendered a big mockery so long as the government can ban publications it finds offensive without reference to the courts of law”.
After calling for a review of the Kenyan Official Secrets Act, the organization encouraged the CKRC to ensure that press freedom is entrenched within Kenyan society in the new constitution. The union urged CKRC to make a provision for the protection of journalists’ rights and privileges, including the confidentiality of news sources and protection against liability for any act or omission done in good faith and with due diligence. Furthermore, the constitution should contain the express right of individuals to “seek, receive and impart information” in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With this in mind, parliament should be prevented from enacting any law that compromises freedom of the media.
At a time when countries such as Ghana and Sri Lanka have agreed to abolish their criminal defamation laws, IPI asserts its whole hearted support for the presentation of the KUJ and invites the Kenyan government to remove these outdated laws.
In July 2001, the laws of criminal libel and sedition were repealed in Ghana. The decision removed a law used to arrest, try and imprison journalists for allegedly defaming members of the government. On 18 June 2002, members of parliament unanimously voted to repeal Sri Lanka’s defamation laws. Kept on the statute books when Sri Lanka became independent, the laws have been used to intimidate the media during times of crisis.
The existence of criminal defamation laws result in the unfair stigmatisation of journalists attempting to carry out their professional duties, and furthermore encourages self censorship to avoid the threat of imprisonment. Criminal defamation laws hamper the press in its vital task of informing the public. IPI believes civil defamation laws and press complaints procedures offer a viable alternative.
Therefore, IPI calls upon Your Excellency to repeal the criminal defamation laws. By doing so you will be working towards greater press freedom and promoting democracy in Kenya.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director
