In Summary
- Social networks abuzz with sentiments against politicians for shunning development issues
Kenya’s online community on Tuesday used social networking sites to urge politicians not to expend their energies on succession politics at the expense of development and uniting Kenyans.
Twitter and Facebook users and bloggers reflected increasing anger towards politicians who, they said, were accorded too much space and airtime in mainstream media at the expense of other news.
An online petition has been set up to push the media into giving the Ocampo Six a media blackout.
Pressing national issues
The petition, launched on April 11 on the gopetition.com global petition host, is titled “I support Ocampo 6 Media Blackout,” and is said to be a petition to Kenyan media houses to focus on more pressing national issues like the implementation of the Constitution and resettling of the internally displaced Kenyans.
As we went to press, the petition had over 1,300 signatures. However, comments on the petitioner’s Facebook Page were mostly against media coverage for the Ocampo Six.
Carol Ng’ang’a posted: “I might be the worst Kenyan Christian ever. I do not want to pray for the Ocampo Six. In fact seeing other pastors on the pulpit praying for them is making me literally tear. What is wrong with us?”
Another user Catherine Wanjiru asked: ‘‘Where were Ruto and Uhuru during post-election violence? Why didn’t they appeal for calm then?”
Jish Lagat on a Facebook posting said: “How could a grown educated individual waste a whole day celebrating individuals who are suspected to have perpetrated the 2007-08 violence?” Levees Abayomi said: “Shut off the cameras in front of them. I’m sick of all this airtime being wasted on their useless keleles (noises).”
Further condemning the media’s treatment of the ICC trials, Phylis Terer posted: “I am tired of watching news. All I see and hear is about the Ocampo Six! Media houses style up!”
The trend was the same on Twitter as Kenyans criticised the ‘unwarranted attention’ politicians are getting.
Calvin Nyakundi tweeted: ‘‘Why is Ruto and Uhuru crisscrossing the country without an agenda spreading their confusion?”
Just as the prayer rally at Uhuru Park was under way, a media house tweeted Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto’s arrival. Replying to that tweet, Kimani Mburu asked; “And why do I need to know this? Blackout [them out]”.
Still on Twitter, Obed Muindi tore into the rally tweeting: “This is total disrespect to the name Uhuru Park when people who don’t value our country’s Uhuru converge there in the guise of unity prayers.’’
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment