Post by obwaka on Oct 12, 2005 8:38:16 GMT 3
Africa's radio lioness won't give in tamely
MURDO MACLEOD
mmacleod@scotlandonsunday.com
SHE has been nicknamed the lioness of the African radio waves as she tears into politicians with her no-holds-barred approach.
But Caroline Mutoko's trenchant criticisms of Kenya's government have proved too much for a ruling class riddled with corruption and unused to the people talking back.
Mutoko, the presenter of the nation's most popular morning radio show, has had to deal with threats and offers of bribes from those who want to shut her up or at least tone down her criticisms.
And her station, Kiss FM, has been the target of government investigations over her use of language "ridiculing" ministers. The station has been banned from some government meetings and briefings.
Mutoko is the starkest example of an African media revolution which has seen a growing number of independent radio stations sprout up across the continent.
The changes mean that millions of listeners now have a choice of sources of information, analysis and comment in a region which was previously dominated by tame, pro-government broadcasters. Radio is much more important in Africa than in Europe because it is cheaper to receive than TV and less prone to distribution problems than newspapers.
But Mutoko's style has been seen as too much, even for the new pro-democracy government which came to power in the former British colony in 2002. It has spectacularly failed to deliver on promises to wipe out corruption, and now bristles at criticism of its record.
Mutoko says she has been on the receiving end of phone calls aimed at getting her to moderate her coverage, which features topics such as "Have you lost confidence in your MP?"
She said in an interview with the BBC: "You get the occasional phone call. You get one which says 'We can make your life a lot better,' and one which says 'We can make your life miserable.'"
Justifying her hard-hitting approach to her nation's politicians, she said: "We thought 'Hold on, we just voted you in. Why are you misbehaving like this?' And they thought 'We thought you liked us?' If a government gets elected and we all sit back and act like they're so beautiful, then who's going to police them?"
Mutoko, who also doubles as the station's advertising manager and is studying for an MBA in the evenings, added: "If we had good government then there would be no stopping us in Kenya. This government had a lot of goodwill which was squandered. We didn't see anything improve, we didn't see respect for the rule of law. It's like finding out your husband is cheating on you. I feel betrayed, I had so much hope, this is me speaking as a citizen.
"The number of times you want to cut them a little slack on air and it's not working so you say 'I'm going to butcher you.'"
In addition to corruption and incompetence in Kenya, Mutoko has also hit out at foreign images of her country, lampooning a British Foreign Office warning that it was a dangerous place to visit.
Her programme comes on air each morning at 6am and runs to 10, with a mixture of pop music, news and chat. Mutoko and a co-presenter discuss the issues of the day and grill politicians or - more controversially - lambast public figures who refuse to appear on their show.
The Kenyan government's response has been anything but liberal, firstly taking the station to court and preventing it making any mention of an under-fire minister for water after the politician was criticised by Mutoko, and then setting up a commission to investigate Kiss FM.
Dr David Anderson, a lecturer in African Studies at St Antony's College Oxford and an expert in Kenyan politics, said talk and news shows such as Mutoko's had come as a shock to the country's rulers.
He said: "Kenya is a radio culture and shows like hers have far more impact than they would have in this country. Politicians are extremely upset at this woman. They are used to a media which is much more domesticated. This programme and this presenter is a symptom of a growing continent-wide phenomenon. The growth of the free media across Africa is a very positive thing."
Pro-reform opposition candidate Mwai Kibaki won a landslide victory with a pledge to sweep away corruption and clean up the country after 24 years under the often repressive rule of President Daniel Arap Moi. But three years after Kibaki won power on a tide of goodwill, public patience has run out as corruption has remained rife.
Anderson said: "There were high expectations which have come to nothing. The whole system of government procurement is utterly corrupt to the core. They appointed a corruption tsar, John Githongo, whose job was to change things and there was a corruption commission, and they made a big thing of it. In reality, nothing could have been further from the truth. He was trying to fight corruption but they were actually trying to muzzle him. He stuck it for so long and then he fled."
Patrick Quarcoo, the station manager of Kiss FM, said the growth of radio would help to entrench democracy across the continent.
He said: "Before now, if there was a military coup, then the first thing they would do was take over the radio station. You could do that when there was just one station. But now when there are hundreds they can't take over all of them."
A report published in the capital Nairobi last week said the majority of Kenyans are dissatisfied with their elected leaders and see corruption as a serious problem.
The study, by the African Peer Review Mechanism - a pan-African project to improve the quality of government that is closely watched by Africans and international donors - said 94% of Kenyans viewed corruption as a major issue. "Kenyans are highly dissatisfied with [the] performance of their elected representatives," it added.
The report said that, "although Kenyans are pleased with their own freedom, they express a sense of hopelessness in influencing public events". But the study also showed that Kenyans were pleased with President Kibaki's efforts to boost free primary education and to promote freedom of speech and movement.
Analysts say corruption in Kibaki's government and political infighting over a new constitution have slowed down much-needed reforms and investment in the east African nation of 32 million people.
Evaluators assess governments on democracy, human rights, peace and security, economic policy and the business environment. But critics say they are little more than a toothless watchdog, lacking the clout to change entrenched practices.
Kenyan planning minister Peter Anyang Nyongo admitted that the government had not convinced its own nationals that it was serious about fighting corruption.
Sunday Scottsman
MURDO MACLEOD
mmacleod@scotlandonsunday.com
SHE has been nicknamed the lioness of the African radio waves as she tears into politicians with her no-holds-barred approach.
But Caroline Mutoko's trenchant criticisms of Kenya's government have proved too much for a ruling class riddled with corruption and unused to the people talking back.
Mutoko, the presenter of the nation's most popular morning radio show, has had to deal with threats and offers of bribes from those who want to shut her up or at least tone down her criticisms.
And her station, Kiss FM, has been the target of government investigations over her use of language "ridiculing" ministers. The station has been banned from some government meetings and briefings.
Mutoko is the starkest example of an African media revolution which has seen a growing number of independent radio stations sprout up across the continent.
The changes mean that millions of listeners now have a choice of sources of information, analysis and comment in a region which was previously dominated by tame, pro-government broadcasters. Radio is much more important in Africa than in Europe because it is cheaper to receive than TV and less prone to distribution problems than newspapers.
But Mutoko's style has been seen as too much, even for the new pro-democracy government which came to power in the former British colony in 2002. It has spectacularly failed to deliver on promises to wipe out corruption, and now bristles at criticism of its record.
Mutoko says she has been on the receiving end of phone calls aimed at getting her to moderate her coverage, which features topics such as "Have you lost confidence in your MP?"
She said in an interview with the BBC: "You get the occasional phone call. You get one which says 'We can make your life a lot better,' and one which says 'We can make your life miserable.'"
Justifying her hard-hitting approach to her nation's politicians, she said: "We thought 'Hold on, we just voted you in. Why are you misbehaving like this?' And they thought 'We thought you liked us?' If a government gets elected and we all sit back and act like they're so beautiful, then who's going to police them?"
Mutoko, who also doubles as the station's advertising manager and is studying for an MBA in the evenings, added: "If we had good government then there would be no stopping us in Kenya. This government had a lot of goodwill which was squandered. We didn't see anything improve, we didn't see respect for the rule of law. It's like finding out your husband is cheating on you. I feel betrayed, I had so much hope, this is me speaking as a citizen.
"The number of times you want to cut them a little slack on air and it's not working so you say 'I'm going to butcher you.'"
In addition to corruption and incompetence in Kenya, Mutoko has also hit out at foreign images of her country, lampooning a British Foreign Office warning that it was a dangerous place to visit.
Her programme comes on air each morning at 6am and runs to 10, with a mixture of pop music, news and chat. Mutoko and a co-presenter discuss the issues of the day and grill politicians or - more controversially - lambast public figures who refuse to appear on their show.
The Kenyan government's response has been anything but liberal, firstly taking the station to court and preventing it making any mention of an under-fire minister for water after the politician was criticised by Mutoko, and then setting up a commission to investigate Kiss FM.
Dr David Anderson, a lecturer in African Studies at St Antony's College Oxford and an expert in Kenyan politics, said talk and news shows such as Mutoko's had come as a shock to the country's rulers.
He said: "Kenya is a radio culture and shows like hers have far more impact than they would have in this country. Politicians are extremely upset at this woman. They are used to a media which is much more domesticated. This programme and this presenter is a symptom of a growing continent-wide phenomenon. The growth of the free media across Africa is a very positive thing."
Pro-reform opposition candidate Mwai Kibaki won a landslide victory with a pledge to sweep away corruption and clean up the country after 24 years under the often repressive rule of President Daniel Arap Moi. But three years after Kibaki won power on a tide of goodwill, public patience has run out as corruption has remained rife.
Anderson said: "There were high expectations which have come to nothing. The whole system of government procurement is utterly corrupt to the core. They appointed a corruption tsar, John Githongo, whose job was to change things and there was a corruption commission, and they made a big thing of it. In reality, nothing could have been further from the truth. He was trying to fight corruption but they were actually trying to muzzle him. He stuck it for so long and then he fled."
Patrick Quarcoo, the station manager of Kiss FM, said the growth of radio would help to entrench democracy across the continent.
He said: "Before now, if there was a military coup, then the first thing they would do was take over the radio station. You could do that when there was just one station. But now when there are hundreds they can't take over all of them."
A report published in the capital Nairobi last week said the majority of Kenyans are dissatisfied with their elected leaders and see corruption as a serious problem.
The study, by the African Peer Review Mechanism - a pan-African project to improve the quality of government that is closely watched by Africans and international donors - said 94% of Kenyans viewed corruption as a major issue. "Kenyans are highly dissatisfied with [the] performance of their elected representatives," it added.
The report said that, "although Kenyans are pleased with their own freedom, they express a sense of hopelessness in influencing public events". But the study also showed that Kenyans were pleased with President Kibaki's efforts to boost free primary education and to promote freedom of speech and movement.
Analysts say corruption in Kibaki's government and political infighting over a new constitution have slowed down much-needed reforms and investment in the east African nation of 32 million people.
Evaluators assess governments on democracy, human rights, peace and security, economic policy and the business environment. But critics say they are little more than a toothless watchdog, lacking the clout to change entrenched practices.
Kenyan planning minister Peter Anyang Nyongo admitted that the government had not convinced its own nationals that it was serious about fighting corruption.
Sunday Scottsman