Earlier this month the CNN/Multichoice Africa Journalists Awards were held in Nairobi, Kenya, featuring special guest Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. Although his arrival was not so punctual, he made up for his tardiness by giving a “very frank” opening remark about how news in Africa is being reported by both local and international media.

Reporter for The Nation Nigeria, Lekan Otufodunrin, attended the event and commented on the African leader’s candor. “Expectedly, he lamented the emphasis on negative reports with not much attention being paid to some positive developments on the continent,” Otufodunrin recounted. Otufodunrin also discussed the obligation that African media forums have to share negative stories in addition to positive stories, to ensure that African leaders work hard to make a better standard of living for African citizens.

However, as Kenyatta noted, this multi-faceted obligation is not similarly shared by international media outlets, which consistently depict Africa as a dark hole, composed of corrupt leaders, violence, and general dysfunction. For example, this recent article by the Associated Press discusses the need for more food in southern Africa, reporting significant droughts and subsequent severe poverty. This article supports the idea that Africa is so dysfunctional that not only can it not support its people, but it can’t even address the issue at all. However, in contrast, Kenyatta pointed out that “child mortality rates fell by an average of forty percent in Africa in the period under review,” a fact that didn’t receive the same type of international recognition. By only consistently reporting on negative events, many international media outlets fail to highlight not only the growth that is happening in this part of the world, but the natural beauty and culture that is already established within the many different African nations.

“Why exaggerate African failure? Why ignore African success?” Kenyatta questioned. His questions are beyond valid. Why are stories of African growth and success so far and few between in international media? International media forums create a skewed perception of Africa to members of their audiences, which creates a domino effect perpetuating racism and violence rooted in ignorance.

International media also fails to differentiate the different countries in Africa, sometimes making it seem like Africa is just one country. For example, CNN recently published an article entitled “Mall the Merrier: Africa’s Growing Appetite for Shopping,” in which a cultural shift in capitalism in Africa is assumed to be the same in all African countries.  This dynamic established by international media takes away from what makes Africa such an incredible addition to the global community. Each African country has its own distinct culture and people, making the continent incredibly diverse. A change in the international media’s depiction of Africa is going to have to start on a national level, within African media forums. Once those media forums begin celebrating the success and growth within their country, it will influence a different depiction of Africa on an international level.

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Reporting in Africa: President Uhuru Kenyatta Explains How We Can All Do Better appeared first on Law Street.

The International Criminal Court has been pursuing a case against Uhuru Kenyatta, the current President of Kenya since the violent events of the 2008 Presidential Elections. The ICC prosecutor recently called for a delay in the proceedings because of insufficient evidence to try Kenyatta.

This case does not resemble a dismissed case in an American court, though. The complicated history of the defendant, Kenyatta, and the International Criminal Court, both come into play in a tale that seems to get more complicated by the day.

During the 2007-2008 Kenyan elections, the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki was running against a challenger, Raila Odinga. Kibaki won, but Odinga supporters alleged that the Kibaki campaign rigged the elections. After the results were announced, violence broke out, mostly along ethnic lines that matched up with the ethnic groups from which Kibaki and Odinga came. It is estimated that 1,200 people were killed and about half a million displaced from their homes.

The Odinga side continued to accuse Kibaki and his supporters of election manipulation, but the Kibaki side accused the Odinga supporters of inciting ethnic violence.

Kenya attempted to conduct their own investigation, but it was unsuccessful and not fruitful. So in 2011, the ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, took matters into his own hands. He indicted six people–Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey, Education Minister William Ruto, Cabinet Secretary Francis Muthaura, radio executive Joshua Arap Sang, and former police commissioner Mohammed Hussein Al for Crimes Against Humanity.

Kenya, of course, did not want to go along with the indictment of some of its top officials, and attempted to remove itself from the Rome Statute that allows the prosecutor to press charges. However, when that move was ultimately unsuccessful, those officials did show up in court for preliminary hearings and attempted to cooperate fully with the Hague-based ICC.

The case was further complicated by the election of Uhuru Kenyatta to the position of the Kenyan Presidency earlier this year. This week, his case took another turn when the current ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, asked for a three month delay from the set start date of February 5th, to look for more evidence. She claims that she had to drop two of her key witnesses because they were offering false testimony or refusal to testify, and now needs more time to follow up with others.

Whether or not she will be able to proceed when that three months elapses will depend on whether she is able to gather enough evidence. She claims that Kenya has not provided sufficient evidence, and stated, “it is necessary to exhaust this line of inquiry – hitherto blocked by the [government] – to determine whether the existing witness testimony regarding the accused’s alleged funding of the [electoral violence] can be corroborated by documentary evidence”.

The whole mess with the Kenyan election trials has led to another debate, this time about the ICC’s actions as a whole. Since the court was founded 11 years ago, there have been eight cases before the ICC. All eight have been from Africa.

African leaders are now arguing that the ICC is discriminatory. The African Union is claiming that justice does not appear to be applied fairly around the world, because the atrocities committed in Afghanistan, Syria, and Colombia have occurred without a word from the ICC.

However, it’s important to note that there are a few different ways cases can make it to the ICC. One of those is self-referral, and of the eight African cases, five came to the ICC in such a manner.

The ICC has always been a contentious topic–the Rome Statute that authorizes it hasn’t even been ratified by the US or Russia, for fear of potential future cases. The ICC has been a grand experiment in international justice; born out of the Nuremberg Trials and special courts set up for the crimes committed in Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and others. And so far, the ICC has had some successes and some failures. But if they can’t work around the Kenyatta issue, the ICC may end up a failed experiment.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [ViktorDobal via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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