Media Law and Practice: The Kenyan Jurisprudence

This guide examines the laws relating to the media and their interpretation by Kenya's judiciary as documented in recent judgments of the High Court. It explores the validity of the high damages awarded to defamation litigants and the reasoning behind the rulings that have stirred public outrage.

The book also surveys the media laws of several countries and how they are at variance with Kenya's law. There are perspectives from Commonwealth countries, the United States and East Africa. It also reviews what the authors describe as the many attempts by the Kenyan government to rewrite the law to gag, rather than facilitate, the Press over the last decade including the Press Law Task Force established by the Government and the 1995 bills to regulate the press.

Topics included:

• The cradle of communication and the origins of censorship
• The legal environment for freedom of expression
• Media Law and practice in East Africa - Tanzania, Uganda, Zanzibar
• International and constitutional safeguards for freedom of speech
• Fair trial, freedom of the press

Published by: The Media Institute