Kenyan politicians have heightened their vote hunting strategies, with a General Election just months away. And the local media is now inundated with daily campaigning reports of the various aspirants. But is this 'excessive coverage' adding value to the electorate?
Yes. There is all that talk about empowering Kenyans to make an informed choice at the ballot box. That the media is being used as a conduit of the political ideas at play, which are then unpacked and 'formatted' for the consumption of the general public.
But how about the now near obsession of conveying 'news' about which politician is forging what alliance with which politician? How is it helpful to know which politicians were in a secret meeting?
In my opinion, the media needs to step back and let the politicians do as they wish in their individual capacities and only report on political matters that are of weighty significance to Kenyans.
It has become too confusing to keep pace with reports of politician A one day holding talks with politician C about defeating politician B in the coming polls, only for the following day to watch or read about politician B meeting with politician C, to strategize about joining forces to frustrate politician A.
In the end, it can very well turn out that politician A, B, and C all end up on the same side.
So, spare the audience the agony of trying to understand the plots and sub-plots of political posturing, in the build up to the next General Election. Let issues and ideologies dominate the coverage in the press.
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