Text messages and their influence on Kenya’s political culture By Wilson Ugangu

Media and the 2007 General elections: The debate  Debate has mainly centered on what the media did or did not do right- whether they abdicated fourth estate/democratic responsibilities to society  Contention on whether media’s coverage actually led to the post election violence or whether there are other variables that could have stimulated the violence

Debate  The role of community FM radio stations/local language stations in promoting violence  Information/internal security ministries have led onslaught on the media  BUT those in the media, human rights have dismissed these accusations.

The positives:  Media( new and traditional forms) credited for providing a platform on which the campaigns were played out, meanings generated, debated and evaluated- civic space  They mobilized voters as well as educating the public on the issues and the candidates  The watchdog responsibility is also emphasized ( Commonwealth Observers Team Report)

Positives  New media provided alternative spaces for expression/alternative view points after the government clampdown on mainstream media  They had up to date information on the vote tallying process, and the ensuing violence  Kenyan civil society campaign – aimed at urging the international community not to give recognition to the Kibaki government. Campaign reached 145 foreign affairs departments across the world

The Negatives:  BUT there have been accusations: From politicians, religious groups, civil society, general public etc Accusations are mainly motivated by the post election violence- in which approximately 1,200 people died and close to 600,000 displaced

Nature of accusations  That the media took sides in the political debate- mainly driven by ethnic considerations/they promoted ethnic nationalism at the expense of national cohesion  They promoted negative ethnic stereotypes and feelings of hate between ethnic groups

Nature of accusations  That the media became hostage to regional and tribal political establishments- with politicians influencing the editorial agenda  Unprofessional- fairness, accuracy and balance- no clear distinction between the roles of media as speaker and civic space

Conclusion;

SMS messages: Positives  Used by political parties to mobilize supporters to vote  Ordinary citizens used them to warn relatives of possible danger  they provided an alternative channel for receiving information

SMS messages: Negatives  Kinsmen used SMS messages to ostracize and discipline errant relatives with differing political opinion/orientation  For instance: “Is it true what im hearing? Tell me if you are PNU? You have to change because you have embarrassed your family by supporting PNU”

SMS messages  Short text messages in local languages were circulated urging members of communities not to vote for perceived enemies- underlined the nature of citizenship in Africa- civil/national and cultural  One such message implored members of a particular community not to vote for a man who is not circumcised

SMS messages  31ts December: Government clampdown on the media- created an information vacuum  SMS henceforth used to fill the information gaps  Lies and half truths were passed on to the public

SMS messages  On the morning of 1ts January a false message reached my village that three key opposition figures had been arrested- within hours youths had armed with all manner of weapons – as a result five policemen were killed and property worthy millions destroyed.

SMS messages  Government security agencies used sms to warn demonstrators/threaten/propagate their version of the truth etc  Service providers promoted peace through sms

Other media: bloggers  Bloggers provided useful spaces for discussion, debate on issues around the elections  Political parties and their sympathizers created websites for political campaign propaganda  Some bloggers used their spaces to post hate messages and propaganda