Birth of the Nation

Gerard Loughran spent over a dozen years at the ‘Nation’ in senior editorial capacities and brings a wide range of international experience to this story. He was Bureau Chief in Beirut, Paris and Moscow for the international news agency, United Press International, and was Foreign News Editor in New York before setting up Compass News Features covering the developing world. Gerard Loughran Published in 2010 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com Distributed in the United States and Canada Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © 2010 Gerard Loughran The right of Gerard Loughran to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. This book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Every effort has been made to contact the owners of copyright material. Should copyright material appear in the book without acknowledgement, the author and publishers would be delighted to make good the omission, and provide full and proper acknowledgement of the provenance of such material, in all future printings and editions of the work. ISBN: 978 1 84511 838 9 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available Designed and Typeset by 4word Ltd, Bristol, UK Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham Contents Preface ix Acknowledgements xi List of Acronyms xiii List of Illustrations xv Chapter 1 Challenge for Control 1 Chapter 2 Birth of a Newspaper 13 Chapter 3 Birth of a Nation 37 Chapter 4 Squeeze on Democratic Space 71 Chapter 5 A Disastrous Error 105 Chapter 6 1982 Coup Attempt 139 Chapter 7 Banned from Parliament 167 Chapter 8 Rise of Multipartyism 195 Chapter 9 Move into Broadcasting 223 Chapter 10 A New President 247 Chapter 11 Expand and Diversify 259 Chapter 12 Torn by Violence 287 Afterword Did We Do Our Best? 311 Index 321 Dedication To the men and women on the Nation’s various publications for their courageous, obstinate and enduring battle for the freedom of speech and expression. Cleopatra: Thou shalt be whipp’d with Wire and stew’d in brine. Smarting in ling’ring pickle. Messenger: Gracious Madam, I that do bring the news Made not the match. Cleopatra: Though it be honest, it is Never good To bring bad news. William Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra, Act II, Scene V Preface When the first issue of The Nation rolled off the presses in Nairobi on 20 March 1960, the newspaper industry worldwide, though it did not know it, was on the cusp of revolution. Editors were aware of television’s eager encroachment, but free news-sheets were unknown, local radio stations offered no realistic competition and the Internet was unimaginable. Today, newspapers in their thousands are collapsing, merging and being subsumed by cyberspace, their advertising revenues and readership drained by a young generation more comfortably attuned to screen and keyboard. Only if the newspapers that survive are better than the ones that die will the industry accommodate these changes. For 50 years, the Nation Media Group has proclaimed a philosophy of self-improvement, believing its commitment to quality would help it har- ness technological evolution and ride economic turbulence. This book examines the extent to which the group has hewn to this philosophy and, perhaps more important, how far its newspapers have contributed to the social health of Kenya and the wider developing world. Did they speak out for the innocent, defend the powerless, accuse the guilty, pillory the thieves? Did they ask the awkward question, investigate, press, persist, excavate and discomfort? To do so whilst subjected over many years to serious repression and unremitting official hostility required stead- fast courage from the journalistic rank and file, and a dedicated, risk-fraught idealism from the ownership. In the end, did the Nation stretch the bounds of freedom? Did it do the right thing? Did it make a difference? The media group which the Aga Khan founded at a time of deep economic uncertainty in the twilight of empire has grown to be the largest pub- lishing organisation in east and central Africa. Its 50th birthday can be seen as a triumphant affirmation of a courageous and visionary concept. But triumphalism would be offering a hostage to fortune. More likely is a x | Birth of a Nation reaffirmation of the self-improvement philosophy, a push for geographic expansion, the embrace of whatever is new in technology and a fearless renewal of its commitment to truth in journalism. Many Nation readers walk to work so as to have money for their newspaper. This is the least they expect in return. Acknowledgements In researching this history, I sought interviews with a great many people. The vast majority responded positively; two Kenyan journalists and a Western diplomat declined, and none of the Kenyan politicians I contacted responded to my requests. I wish to thank senior management of the Nation Media Group Ltd for commissioning me to undertake this project, in particular Mr Wilfred Kiboro for his encouragement and personal availability and for allowing me unhindered access to company documents. The late Michael Curtis, so cru- cial in the Nation story, opened not only his files but his home to me. In France, Georgina Cochu and Francesca Cossu were particularly helpful, and in Nairobi Wangethi Mwangi opened a path through the thickets of newspaper bureaucracy. There, too, my work was facilitated by the former chief librarian Charles Mallei and in particular by Evans Luvonga Sasakah. I want to thank also all those current and former Nation staffers, and media people outside of the company, who gave generously of their time and hospitality to recall and explain events of the past half-century, along with those who responded with written recollections and in a variety of other ways. Essentially, this is history as seen by contemporary eye- witnesses, and the book could not have been written in this way without their memories. Gerry Wilkinson was particularly generous not only with his time, encouragement and suggestions over the lengthy period of writing and pre-publication, but crucially for his moral support at times when the way ahead looked obscure. If I have missed anyone who assisted me from the following list, please accept my apologies and take my gratitude as read: Mahmood Ahamed, Dennis Aluanga, Violet Anyango, Allen Armstrong, Olive Armstrong, Robbie Armstrong, Frank Barton, Dick Beeston, Gavin Bennett, Aziz Bhaloo, Peter Biddlecombe, John Bierman, Brian Carter, Peter Chadwick, Alan Chester, Michael Chester, Nick Chitty, Tom Clark, John Collier, Ivor Davis, Paddy Deacon, Stan Denman, Tony Dunn, John Eames, xii | Birth of a Nation John and Mary Edwards, Sean Egan, Albert A.A. Ekirapa, Sarah Elderkin, Jack Ensoll, Cyprian Fernandes, Ian Fernandes, Aidan Flannery, Gado (Godfrey Mwampembwa), Dr B.M. Gecaga, Linus Gitahi, John Githongo, Michael Griffin, Desmond Harney, Charles Hayes, Margaret Hayes, Dr Peter Hengel, Richard Henry, Bob Hitchcock, Gloria Hitchcock, Mark Holden, Joe Kadhi, Paul Kalemba, A.R. Kapila, Irene Karanja, Paddy Kearney, Charles Kimathi, James Kinyua, Andrew Kuria, Tony Lavers, John Lawrence, Eric Marsden, Ros Marsden, Joseph Mathenge, Alastair Matheson, Ian Matheson, Julius Mbaluto, Chege Mbitiru, George Mbugguss, Helen Mbugua, Colin MacBeth, Peter McCardle, John McHaffie, Mike Mills, Tom Mshindi, Njonjo Mue, Wamahiu Muya, Mburu Mwangi, Cyrille Nabutollah, Mbatau wa Ngai, Dugal Nisbet-Smith, Mutegi Njau, Bernard K. Njeru, Philip Ochieng, Charles Onyango-Obbo, Albert Odero, Joseph Odindo, Blasto Ogindo, Patrick Orr, Malcolm Payne, John Platter, Ian Raitt, Arnold Raphael, Paul Redfern, Cyrilla Rodrigues, Jim Rose, Nick Russell, Robert Shaw, Mr Justice J.F. Shields, John Silvester, Peter Smith, Roger Steadman, Althea Tebbutt- Berryman, Louise Tunbridge, Errol Trzebinski, Yussuf Wachira, Neema Wamai, Mohammed Warsama, Frank Whalley, Ray Wilkinson, Ali Zaidi, Karl Ziegler. List of Acronyms AFP Agence France Presse AKFED Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development AP Associated Press CCM Chama Cha Mapinduzi CEO chief executive officer DC district commissioner EAN East African Newspapers EATN East Africa Television Network FERA February Eighteen Resistance Army FORD Forum for the Restoration of Democracy GDP gross domestic product GEMA Gikuyu, Embu, Meru Association IPS Industrial Promotion Services IPI International Press Institute IPPG Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group KADU Kenya African Democratic Union KANU Kenya African National Union KBC Kenya Broadcasting Corporation KICC Kenyatta International Conference Centre KNA Kenya News Agency KPU Kenya People’s Union KTN Kenya Television Network Legco Legislative Council LDP Liberal Democratic Party MD managing director MPL Monitor Publications Ltd Mwakenya Muungano wa Wazalendo wa Kukomboa Kenya (Union of Patriots for the Liberation of Kenya) xiv | Birth of a Nation NAK National Alliance Party of Kenya Narc National Rainbow Coalition NDP National Development Party NMG Nation Media Group Ltd NNL Nation Newspapers Ltd NPP Nation Printers

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