Miscommunication; Media vs Government

Once again, Garissa has hit headlines and, as usual, it is bad news. Al Shabaab terrorists are alleged to have attacked police officers who were on patrol inYumbis and according to reports, killed at least twenty security officers. The news however created an online uproar as Kenyans on Twitter (KOT) famously known for picking up issues and making them trend blasted the government for laxity when it comes to security.

One Kenyan On Twitter going by the name The Mutai; @ItsMutai expressed his concern by saying that as the police are massacred everyday, we forget they are our mothers, brothers, sisters and even fathers. ‘Sad’ he added.In the morning the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit through their twitter handle @PSCU_Digital managed by Dennis Itumbi-Director of Digital Innovations and Diaspora Communications- also registered their condolences to the families of the ‘fallen’ officers but later deleted the tweet and

expressed their regret. The ensuing events were interesting because citizens were treated to an avalanche of conflicting and contradicting messages.

Through a statement, the government came out to give information that was completely opposite of what had been reported by a section of the media. It claimed that no police officer had lost his life but confirmed that there was an attack and some officers were injured.

‘Last evening, officers who were on patrol within Fafi and Yumbis areas were attacked by suspected Al Shabaab gunmen’ The Inspector General of Police further claimed that two officers were critically injured, three officers sustained minor injuries and five vehicles were burnt down.

Boinnet further clarified that all 59 police officers affected by the Yumbis attack have been accounted for. One thing that an observant Kenyan would realize is that the government communication system is shambolic, chaotic and disorganized at best. In an age and era where every citizen owning a Smartphone is a ‘journalist’ by virtue of being able to post an information that can be accessed by millions online, the best thing that systems of administrations can do is to have one official communication channel which should feed the public with reliable, consistent and verifiable information. Today, even journalists find it challenging when it comes to breaking news.

The latest theatrics from the government are not strange. During the Westgate attack, the same government was criticized in equal measures for misinforming the public. The famous one is when the then Minister for Interior and Coordination of National Government, Mr Ole Lenku wildly claimed that the smoke the public saw from the Mall resulted from burning mattresses that were allegedly lit by the terrorists as a diversionary tactic.

The Chief of Defense Forces was also at one point torn between referring to the attackers as Terrorists or Criminals. How absurd! Amidst all these, it’s the government that loses credibility while confusing the members of the public further. Transparency is one of the key attributes of good governance and the people should never doubt the government at any point in time. The integrity of journalists is also brought to afore. Seeking clear and verifiable news should be key abilities of good journalist

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