Thursday, July 4, 2013

Retain centre for media: Raila

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PHOTO | STEPHEN MUDIARI The media centre at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on June 6, 2013.
PHOTO | STEPHEN MUDIARI The media centre at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on June 6, 2013.  NATION MEDIA GROUP
By NATION REPORTER
Posted  Wednesday, July 3  2013 at  23:30
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has asked the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi to allow journalists back into the media centre in Parliament.
Visiting Parliament for the first time on Wednesday since the March 2013 General Election, Mr Odinga said asking reporters to vacate the media centre was a step back given that it took a lot of effort to put it up.
“We allowed Parliament to set up the centre for the media so that journalists can have access to information easily,” he said.
“It is therefore a retrogressive development to kick the media out of Parliament because it belongs here,” the former PM said after a meeting with Cord MPs at Parliament Buildings.
Journalists covering Parliament were last month asked to vacate the centre that was constructed for them at Parliament Buildings during the 10th Parliament.
As a result, the reporters can no longer use the facility constructed under the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit with funding from the United States.
Although Cord MPs have since last Friday embarked on a push to have the members of the fourth estate return to the centre, their Deputy Minority Leader has been among those supporting the decision.
On Friday, however, he appeared to point an accusing finger at the Jubilee coalition claiming it was behind the predicament facing journalists covering Parliament and its proceedings, claiming it was intolerant of the media.
The Cord MPs proceeded to address journalists outside the gates of Parliament saying they were doing so to show solidarity with affected journalists.
The matter came up at Wednesday’s Cord Parliamentary Group meeting where the coalition MPs informed Mr Odinga about the plight of journalists at Parliament.

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