Radio for Development

Well, R4D got a bit of a shock to see the Youtube clip about Joshua Arap Sang (Sept. 26 post) receiving over 8,000 views overnight.

No doubt in response to the International Criminal Court allegations that Sang, along with William Samoei Ruto and Henry Kiprono Kosgey, bears;

“Criminal responsibility under Article 25 of the Rome Statute for murder, torture, deportation or forcible transfer, and persecution based on political affiliation as crimes against humanity.”

It’s hard to reconcile the guy in the video with the crimes he’s supposed to have committed. My first reaction was – where is the evidence? As Julius Lamaon, the CEO of Kass said (Nov. 2 post) where is the “scientific data”?

I’m not for a second discounting the seriousness of the allegations – “hate radio” is of course a very dangerous thing – and it will be good to have the issue given public discussion via the impending Hague trial. It will be very interesting to see what eventuates. Click “View Full Article” below to see sections taken from the official charges relating to Sang;

(For the full article visit; Mashada)

View full article »

In another posting about KASS FM Kenya – Julius Lamaon, the CEO, responds to criticisms that Kalenjin callers to the station made Incendiary comments that stirred the violence following the 2007 Kenyan elections. Some have called this controversial style of broadcasting – “Hate Radio”.

Although radio clearly has a responsibility to ensure a fair and balanced output – targeting Kass and other stations for the bloody aftermath of the elections seems to be a way of deflecting attention away from the real causes of the issue – years of ineffectual government and corruption amongst politicians.

I asked Julius about this sensitive issue in order to give some balance to the debate – which has “accused” several Kenyan stations without any real evidence being produced. It’s worth noting that following the elections Kass invited representatives from other Kenyan tribes to share their views on-air in talk shows designed to encourage unity.