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US concerned about new Kenya media law
The United States is worried press freedom in Kenya may be at risk, the US ambassador said yesterday, after lawmakers passed a bill criticised by media groups for handing the government excessive powers.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:45 December 13, 2008
Nairobi: The United States is worried press freedom in Kenya may be at risk, the US ambassador said yesterday, after lawmakers passed a bill criticised by media groups for handing the government excessive powers.
Activists say the bill, which was passed on December 10 but still needs President Mwai Kibaki's signature, violates democratic standards by allowing heavy fines and jail terms for press offences.
Several local journalists and civil rights campaigners were arrested during demonstrations against the bill at Independence Day celebrations on Friday.
In the capital Nairobi, hecklers forced Kibaki to cut short his speech, while an activist who approached the podium was roughed up by police on live television before being arrested.
"The United States is very concerned," the US ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, said.
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