The Kenyan Parliament is proposing new measures to control live coverage of the house, and they have immediately been criticized by the Journalists Association of Kenya (JAK), writes Dennis Itumbi.
Legislators are proposing specific rules through a revised set of standing orders which include guidance on camera angles and a single controlled signal from a proposed Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit (PBU).
Martin Gitau, the Secretary General of the JAK, immediately called the move "yet another control measure by parliament".
He said: "It is okay to guide the media on how to effectively cover parliament but to require that all media rely on a singular signal from a parliamentary body and that specific camera shots be used when televising or filming is parliamentary dictatorship."
Gitau further described the move as "an assault on the freedom of the press, we are not in the public relations business, we will not cover parliament as if it is a favour.â€ÂÂ
The bill proposes, " group shots and cut-aways may be taken for purposes of showing reaction to issues on the floor but not to embarrass individual members of parliament."
In the past, the media have shown MP's sleeping on the floor of the house causing a public uproar.
To enforce the new rules Parliament proposes the formation of a House Broadcasting Committee that can impose penalties on defaulters.
