A Critical Evaluation Of The Proposed Kenya’s Film, Stage Plays And Publications Bill 2016

Abstract

Debates about content regulation have been dominated by pro-censorship and anti-censorship arguments. More recently there has been emergence of repressive laws and rising attacks on creative artists. Increased fear of a robust and aggressive creative industry by government cannot also be ignored. Countries like Australia and South Africa have come out strongly in pushing for change to legislation and a review of the classification guidelines. In Kenya, the Film and Classification Boards proposed has sparked mixed reactions mainly from Social media bloggers, advertisers and artists. There have been attempts by religious groups to lobby KFCB to withdraw and review the bill. There have also been calls from the creative industry that the bill be trashed and the KFCBs CEO be removed from office. According to KFCB, the bill is meant to enhance adherence to the broadcast content regulations and preserve national values and morals. The proposed bill outlaws the airing of commercials relating to betting, contraceptive and alcoholic drinks between 5am and 10pm when children are deemed to be awake. Also, the bill requires police officers to be present during the shooting of a broadcast film and to stop any scene they feel contravenes the regulations. Social media users wishing to post videos online must seek clearance from KFCB. These contagious issues have led to industry players terming the bill as vague and open to abuse at the expense of artists. This article is premised on the argument that Kenyan film sector is still struggling and crippling it risks curtailing some very important bits of immaterial culture. We believe that no one can police morals, instead we argue for a paradigm shift towards a more policy-oriented approach in handling regulation and classification issues. As it stands, there is huge uncertainty as to whether the bill will be passed into law or whether it will be rejected by parliament. We recommend a proper assessment of the impact of passing the proposed bill. We also recommend enactment of friendly laws that will competitively position the Kenya’s creative industry.