The foundation of any healthy democracy rests on the public’s access to accurate, fair, and unbiased information. As Kenya approaches its next electoral cycle, the media’s role in safeguarding this foundation has never been more critical. On Friday, September 5, 2025, The Youth Café hosted a crucial webinar titled, “Ethical Journalism and Election Integrity,” bringing together journalists, editors, press associations, and civic educators to dissect the challenges and responsibilities facing newsrooms today.
Moderated by Cidney Njeri, the session featured Maximilian Ochango Ambeba, Chief Operations Officer at Uamuzi Foundation, who provided a compelling look at the media’s evolution in Kenya and outlined a five-point strategy for responsible election coverage. The primary aim of the discussion was to promote responsible reporting, ensuring accuracy, fairness, and the crucial protection of public trust in the media during high-stakes political periods.
The Long Shadow of History: Kenya’s Media Evolution
Maximilian Ochango began by setting the historical context, emphasizing that media in Kenya has always been an embodiment of the political system. He recounted the period from 1963, when the media and access to information were tightly state-controlled, through the eras of the de facto and de jure one-party states (1969-1991), where serious legal and ethical concerns arose due to the centralization of power and information.
The media space only began to open up in the early 1990s during the clamour for multi-party democracy, leading to significant growth in media freedom. However, this freedom came with grave responsibility, a lesson underscored by the tragic events following the 2005 referendum and the 2007/08 Post-Election Violence (PEV).
Mr. Ochango starkly reminded the audience that the Waki Report found that media, particularly vernacular radio stations, amplified the ethnicisation and polarisation that spiralled the violence. Furthermore, the TJRC report indicated that the media contributed to the regression and perpetration of historical injustices in the nation. This historical analysis served as a solemn starting point, highlighting the high stakes involved in ethical reporting.
Today, access to information is enshrined as a right under Article 35 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. While mainstream media, TV (26%) and radio (23%) remain major access points, social media has surged to 24%, showing its growing prominence as a platform for uncensored information and political mobilization, as seen during the June 2024 protests.
The Five Pillars of Ethical Election Reporting
The speaker structured his main address around five critical areas, providing actionable insights for journalists navigating the complex electoral environment:
1. Upholding Objectivity and Integrity
Mr. Ochango stressed that ethical journalism calls for unwavering objectivity and impartiality, yet media houses have often been viewed as partisan in their coverage. He cited compelling case studies to illustrate this bias:
2017 General Election: Media coverage was largely monopolized by the Jubilee coalition and the National Super Alliance (NASA), marginalizing smaller parties and independent candidates like Ekuru Aukot and Michael Wainaina.
2022 General Election: The disparity was even more pronounced. The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance received 61.2% of media coverage, compared to the Kenya Kwanza Alliance at 38.2%. Fringe candidates like Prof. George Wajackoyah and David Mwaure received negligible coverage, 0.54% and 0.02% respectively.
Beyond just fairness, the speaker defined integrity, reminding journalists that they are expected not to be bribed, defame, incite, subvert a report for political or religious reasons, or release unverified election results. He noted that the revised code of conduct launched by the Media Council of Kenya in May 2025 aims to strengthen this reporting ecosystem.
2. Balancing Speed and Accuracy in Breaking News
In the digital era, the pressure to break news first often compromises accuracy. Mr. Ochango was emphatic that, under pressure, the journalist's prime ethical responsibility is to cross-check all information to ensure they publish only accurate and factual reports. Professional coverage also means avoiding the publication of gruesome scenes and offensive information, and sticking to information relevant to the electoral process to maintain the privacy of personalities.
3. Handling Pressure, Harassment, and Censorship
The webinar addressed the stark gap between the constitutional guarantee of media freedom (Article 34) and the reality on the ground. The speaker cited alarming data showing Kenya's global censorship ranking had dropped significantly, from 69th to 116th. Harassment of journalists during the 2022 election period was extensive, illustrating the external pressures news teams face. This segment reinforced the necessity for news organizations to provide robust protection and legal aid to their reporters.
4. Collaboration with Civil Society to Counter Misinformation
Recognizing that the rise of misinformation and disinformation is ranked as one of the highest risks for global polarization and violence by the WEF 2024, Mr. Ochango advocated for strategic collaboration. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) often have strong linkages with communities, which journalists can leverage to access reliable, verified information for better reporting.
He highlighted the Uamuzi app as a model for civic tech, which is designed to combat misinformation by sharing accurate information. The app includes features such as:
Ubunifu (innovation): Leveraging technology to create sustainable social justice solutions.
Uongozi (leadership): Institutionalizing good governance and capacity building.
Mulika (illuminate): Focusing on peacebuilding through digital rights, tolerance, and national cohesion.
Tubonge (let’s chat): The most used feature, providing a critical platform for civic participation that overcomes structural and cultural barriers.
5. Engaging Audience to Rebuild Trust in Media
In his conclusion, Mr. Ochango focused on the long-term goal: restoring public faith in journalism. He proposed a shift in strategy for newsrooms:
Prioritize Transparency and Good Governance: News coverage should be based on these principles to increase credibility.
Cover Public Interest: Media houses must focus on areas of genuine public interest to ensure the audience trusts the news they consume.
Adopt a Bottom-Up Approach: News production should involve citizens in the coverage and production of news, moving away from centralized, top-down narratives.
By following these five pillars: upholding integrity, prioritizing accuracy, resisting pressure, collaborating with civil society, and actively working to rebuild audience trust, journalists can move beyond simply covering elections to actively safeguarding the integrity of Kenya’s democratic process. The ultimate responsibility lies with the media to ensure that, in the face of political pressure and rampant disinformation, the public remains well-informed and empowered.
Key Takeaways and Conclusion:
The session served as a crucial intervention point, moving the discussion from abstract ethical theory to actionable journalistic practice. The core message was clear: safeguarding the integrity of elections is not solely the duty of electoral bodies or political candidates, but a collective burden that rests heavily on the shoulders of the media and an active citizenry.
The questions from participants during the Q&A session were highly indicative of the professional challenges journalists are currently facing, focusing on practical solutions for integrity:
How can the media balance speed with accuracy under election pressure?
What strategies can help rebuild public trust in election reporting?
How can collaboration between journalists and civil society reduce misinformation?
What ethical challenges do journalists face when covering elections?
The overall takeaway is that trust is the media’s most valuable currency, and its historical and contemporary erosion is reversible only through deliberate, ethical action. Maximilian Ochango’s solutions provide the immediate roadmap for resilience:
Transparency is Non-Negotiable: Journalists must commit to the highest standards of integrity, resisting political coercion, and actively working to avoid the biases that historically led to the ethnicisation of politics.
Accuracy Over Speed: In a world where digital platforms prioritize virality, newsrooms must re-commit to the principle of "Pause and Verify," ensuring that no unverified result or inflammatory narrative is disseminated.
Civic Collaboration is Key: By partnering with trusted Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and leveraging civic tech tools like Uamuzi, media houses can access and share accurate, ground-up information, effectively monitoring and countering the spread of falsehoods.
Ultimately, the future of Kenya’s democratic stability hinges on a media that is not just free, but responsible. By involving citizens in the coverage process (adopting a bottom-up approach) and focusing resolutely on issues of public interest and good governance, the media can begin the long process of reclaiming the public's confidence. The commitment to ethical journalism is, therefore, a fundamental commitment to democracy itself.