Communications

Overview

This sector, a key to sustained economic development in Kenya, experienced rapid growth in 2000–2006 because of the proliferation of mobile cellular telephones. The number of cell phone subscribers increased from 24,000 in 1999 to 5 million in 2005. In 2005 Kenya’s telephone landlines numbered 282,000, compared with 106,000 in 1984. The landline system has been generally unreliable, having seen little modernization except for service to businesses. The burgeoning cellular phone system is operated by two license holders, Safaricom and Celtel, to be joined eventually by a third, Econet Wireless Kenya. Internet use also has expanded rapidly, reaching 1 million by 2005. The country had six television broadcast stations in 2007 and more than three dozen radio stations. Kenya is estimated to have 22 televisions per 1,000 people.

Mass Media

Kenya’s state-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation remains the only broadcaster with countrywide coverage. A dozen private radio and television stations have ranges that are limited to the Nairobi area. A number of recently established private radio stations broadcast in local languages, including Kameme FM (Kikuyu), Metro East FM (Hindi), and Rehema Radio (Kalenjin). More than 100 applications for radio and television licenses are pending before the government-controlled Communication Commission of Kenya. Kenya’s print media are diverse, ranging from well-respected newspapers and magazines to an expansive tabloid press. Two independent national newspapers, the Daily Nation and The Standard, feature quality reporting, as does the weekly, The East African, which is published in Nairobi, as well as in Dar es Salaam and Kampala.

Under the Kibaki government, the media have demonstrated greater editorial independence than in previous years, and the number of press freedom abuses has declined. Still, some media policies and incidents continue to inhibit press freedom, e.g., the need to post a costly bond prior to publication and to register afterward. In 2003 the government invoked a restrictive constitutional provision on court coverage to intimidate journalists reporting on a possible political murder. In March 2006, hooded policemen raided the offices of The Standard newspaper and Kenya Television Network, claiming concerns about internal security.

Source: Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile: Kenya, June 2007