Scribes to file election stories with ease from MCK media centers

The Director of Media Training and Development at the Media Council of Kenya Victor Bwire address the press in Kisumu today during the opening of a media Center that MCK has established in Kisumu and other regions in Kenya for the effective election coverage-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo 

By Dickson Odhiambo

August 8, 2022

Scribes to file election stories with ease from MCK media centers

A Number of Journalists giving media coverage to this year’s General Election from Kisumu and other parts of the country will now file their stories with ease from media centers established.

The media Centers are the first ones to be established within Kisumu and some regions by the Media Council of Kenya to help journalists do their media coverage of this year’s elections where voting kicks off tomorrow by 6:00 am and ends at 5:00pm.

Addressing the Journalists in Kisumu today during the inauguration of the Media Center within the posh Milimani Estate, Director, Media Training and Development at the Media Council of Kenya Victor Bwire said the Media Centers established across the country will be of greater help to Journalists who provide media coverage during this electioneering period.

He says apart from the Media Center established at the Bomas of Kenya where the IEBC has a national tallying center, there are seven other Media Centers established to assist Journalists do their work effectively while covering this election.

He says other regions where the Media centers have been established include Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri,Embu and Kisii.

Bwire says the Journalists operating from the media centers will be very safe during the times they will be working there to give extensive coverage to the polls, adding that only journalists who have been duly accredited by the Media Council will have access to the centers.

“At least the Journalists who are covering this election across the country in the areas we have mentioned as having media centers will do so with a lot of ease since they will be safe and will also be able to get fast and free internet to hasten their work of filing stories related to the election,” Bwire says.

He says having media centers easily accessible will make scribes safe since they won’t walk for longer distance from the IEBC tallying centers at the counties to their offices.

Bwire adds that the Media Centers can also be used to host press conference on issues related to elections since they are safe places.

“I think by establishing the media centers, we have also minimized cases where journalists covering elections are being attacked at night in the line of duties of covering elections when they walk long to go back to newsrooms to file their stories,” Bwire adds.

Kisumu based Journalists have welcome the move of establishing such center to ease their working during the electioneering period.

John Riaga, Kisumu Based Journalist says a number of Journalists with no offices to do their work especially during the electioneering period will now have a place to do their stories.

Riaga has however called for an establishment of permanent media centers across the country to help journalists get somewhere to do their work easily especially the freelance journalists operating without bureaus.

“We want to thank the Media Council of Kenya for such an initiative since this is a plus to the Journalists at the grass root level who will now do stories related to elections with a lot of ease,” Riaga says.

Former Chairman of Kisumu Journalists Network Dickson Odhiambo has greatly lauded the move to establish the media centers across the country.

Odhiambo terms the move by the Media Council of Kenya as a major milestone on the issue of election coverage from the grass root level.

In Kisumu, the Media center is situated barely a few meters from the IEBC Kisumu County Tallying center at Tom Mboya Labour aCollege where the Results for Governor, Woman Representative Senator positions will be officially announced by the IEBC County Returning Officer.