The Inclusivity debate, what role can the media play?

Fostering inclusivity through the media

25th November 2020

President Kenyatta shakes hands with ODM
leader Raila Odinga in March 2018 
Source: Standard Media

The Building Bridges Initiative referendum signature collection that was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his handshake brother former Prime Minister Raila Odinga Wednesday seeks to entrench the doctrine of inclusivity as key to addressing Kenya’s perennial election related problems.

The BBI taskforce among others identified the challenge of inclusivity as a major challenge facing the country leading to incessant wrangles every election cycle. Despite the existence of constitutional interventions such as devolution, constitutional commissions such as the National Gender and Equality Commission, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission among others, the challenge of attaining desirable levels of inclusivity still abounds.

From the outset, the principle of inclusivity is as diverse as the ridges that it seeks to bridge. The Oxford English dictionary defines inclusivity as the practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as those having physical or mental disabilities or belonging to minority groups.

As an ideal, inclusivity seeks to ensure that the potentially excluding group is aware of its actions and therefore puts deliberate social, economic, political and legal measures to address the imbalance.

While Kenya has tried to address the same with significant levels of success, the challenge still remains due to the various socio-economic and political dimensions of exclusions. Ethnic and gender marginalization, poverty, age, social classes etc are just some of the aspects that lead to exclusion of individuals and communities from enjoying and accessing their constitutionally guaranteed rights.

Inclusivity is a positive and beneficial principle that we should all aspire to. It requires the country to embrace and work towards reducing gaps and addressing power imbalances between well-endowed individuals and communities and those who are disenfranchised in one way or another.

The recent stalemate over division of revenue at the senate and the controversial two thirds gender rule that saw the Chief Justice David Maraga advice President Kenyatta to dissolve parliament are some of the recent attempts to ensure inclusivity.

It is important to note that the principle of inclusivity cannot be cured by BBI alone and the discourse needs to be kept open and alive at all times. While the BBI is a good attempt, there are so many aspects of exclusion that may be happening in various sectors of the country. For instance there are claims that religious, ethnic, clan, gender is quite alive in the counties.

What role can the media play in advancing the debate?

Kenya brags of a vibrant national and community media that can push for the inclusivity discourse with little interference from government.  The media can therefore advance the inclusivity debate, equal treatment or affirmative action legislation in the country and counties respectively by going beyond conveyor belt journalism.

Marginalized groups can find a home in the media from where they can advance their political social and economic plight with a view to reaching out to power.

The media can also help highlight violations of policies in the public sector. For instance, how successful are policies that seek to reserve seats and jobs for certain marginalized groups? What action has the public and private sector taken to ensure that marginalized groups are included?

While the attainment of the inclusivity ideal is a process, self-reflection though an independent and unbiased media is important in the efforts to ensure that all critical sectors are involved in the inclusivity debate.