SECOND SCHEDULE

[Section 45.]

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEDIA PRACTICE

1. Interpretation

In this code of conduct “a person subject to this

Act” means a journalist, media practitioner,
foreign journalist or media enterprise.

2. Accuracy and fairness

1) A person subject to this Act shall write a balanced,
impartial, accurate, verified and an unbiased
story on all matters including matters of public
interest.
2) All sides of the story shall be reported, where it is
not possible to give both sides of the story, the
provisions of this code will be adhered to
3) Comments shall be sought in writing from anyone
who is mentioned in an unfavourable context and
evidence of such attempts to seek the comments
shall be kept.
4) Whenever it is recognized that an inaccurate,
misleading or distorted story has been published
or broadcast, it shall be corrected promptly.
5) Corrections shall present the correct information
in the same prominence as that given to the
information being corrected and shall not restate
the error except when clarity demands.
6) An apology that results from the determination of
the Council shall be published or broadcast in
such manner as the Council may specify.
7) A person subject to this Act, while free to be
partisan, shall distinguish clearly in their reports
between comment, conjecture and fact.
8) Headings shall reflect and justify the matter
printed under them. Headings containing
allegations made in statements shall either
identify the body or the source making them or at
least carry quotation marks.
9) A person subject to this Act should always report
fairly and accurately the outcome of an action for
defamation to which it has been a party.
3. Independence
1) A person subject to this Act shall exercise
independence in their coverage
2) A person subject to this Act shall—
(a) gather and report news without fear or favour,
and resist undue influence from any forces,
including commercial and political sources,
story subjects, powerful individuals and
special interest groups;
(b) resist any self-interest or peer pressure that
might undermine journalistic duty and service
to the public;
(c) refuse to allow the interests of ownership or management
to influence news’ judgment and content inappropriately.

4. Integrity and Conflict of interest

1)A person subject to this Act shall present news
with integrity and common decency, avoiding real
or perceived conflicts of interest, and respect the
dignity and intelligence of the audience as well as
the subjects of news.
2)A person subject to this Act shall—
(a) clearly label opinion and commentary;
(b) use technological tools with skill and
thoughtfulness, avoiding techniques that skew
facts, distort reality, or sensationalize events;
(c) use surreptitious news gathering techniques
including hidden cameras or microphones,
only if there is no other way of obtaining
stories of significant public importance, and if
the technique is explained to the audience.
(2)A person subject to this Act shall not—
(a) pay news sources.or receive any money as an incentive to
publish
any information.
(b) solicit or accept gifts, favours or compensation
from those who might seek to influence
coverage;
(c) obtain nor seek to obtain information or
pictures through intimidation or harassment.
(d) engage in activities that may compromise their
integrity or independence.
5. Accountability
1) A person subject to this Act shall recognize that
they are accountable for their actions to the
public, the profession and themselves therefore
they shall—
(a) actively encourage adherence to these
standards by all journalists media
practitioners and media enterprises;
(b) encourage media enterprises to develop internal dispute
resolution
procedures to expeditiously handle complaints
(c) Subject to (b) respond to public concerns,
investigate complaints and correct errors
promptly;
(d) recognise that they are duty-bound to conduct themselves
ethically.

6. Opportunity to Reply
1) A fair opportunity to reply shall be given before
and after the broadcast or publication of a story.
2) Where there are inaccuracies after broadcast or
publication of a story, opportunity shall be given to
correct the same pursuant to clause 2.
3) If the request to correct inaccuracies in a story is
in the form of a letter, the editor has the discretion
to publish it in full or in its abridged version but
the remainder shall be an effective reply.
4) The summarized version of the reply shall not lose
the core content.

7. Sources
1) A reporter shall identify sources. Confidential sources shall be
used
only when it is clearly in public interest to gather or convey
important information or when a person providing information
might be harmed;
2) Unnamed sources shall only be used when the pursuit of the truth
will best be served by not disclosing the source who shall be
known
by the editor and reporter.
3) When material is used in a report from sources other than the
reporter’s, these sources shall be indicated in the story.

8. Confidentiality
 1) A person subject to this Act has a professional
obligation to protect sources of information.

9. Misrepresentation

1) A person subject to this Act should not generally obtain or seek to

obtain information of pictures through misrepresentation or
subterfuge.
2) Unless in the public interest, documents and photographs should
be
removed only with the express consent of the owner.
3) Subterfuge can be justified only in the public interest and only
when
material cannot be obtained by any other means.

10. Obscenity, taste and tone in reporting

1) In general, persons subject to this Act shall not

publish obscene or vulgar material unless such
material contains news.
2) Publication or broadcast of photographs or
videos showing mutilated bodies, bloody
incidents and abhorrent scenes shall be avoided
unless the publication or broadcast of such
photographs or videos will serve the public
interest.
3) Where possible an alert shall be issued to warn
viewers or readers of the information being
published or broadcast.

12. Covering ethnic, religious and sectarian conflict

1) News, views or comments on ethnic, religious or
sectarian dispute shall be published or broadcast
after proper verification of facts and presented
with due caution and restraint in a manner which
is conducive to the creation of an atmosphere
congenial to national harmony.
2) News reports or commentaries shall not be
published or broadcast in a manner likely to
inflame the passions, aggravate the tension or
accentuate the strained relations between the
communities concerned.
3) Publications or broadcasts with the potential to
exacerbate communal trouble shall be avoided.
 4) A person subject to this Act shall seek to
understand the diversity of their community and
inform the public without bias or stereotype and
present a diversity of expressions, opinions, and
ideas in context.

13. Recording interviews and telephone conversations

1) Except in justifiable cases, A person subject to this
Act shall not tape or record anyone without the
person’s knowledge. An exception may be made
only if the recording is necessary to protect the
journalist in a legal action or for some other
compelling reason. In this context these standards
also apply to electronic media.
2) Before recording an electronic conversation for
broadcast, or broadcasting an electronic
conversation live, a person subject to this Act
shall inform any party to the call of its intention to
broadcast the conversation.
3) This, however, does not apply to conversation
whose broadcast can reasonably be presumed, for
example, telephone calls to programmes where
the station customarily broadcasts calls.

14. Privacy
1) The public’s right to know shall be weighed
against the privacy rights of people in the news.
2) Intrusions and enquires into an individual's
private life without his or her consent including
the use of long-lens photography and drones to
take sound or images of people on private
property without their consent are not generally
acceptable and publication or broadcast can only
be justified when in the public interest.
3) Things concerning a person’s home, family,
religion, tribe, health, sexuality, personal life and
private affairs are covered by the concept of
privacy except where these impinge upon the
public.
4) A person subject to this Act should not persist in
telephoning, recording or questioning individuals
after having been asked to desist.
 5) A person subject to this Act should not remain on
an individuals property after having been asked to
leave and should not follow them.

Note: Private property is defined as any private residence, together

with its garden and outbuildings, but excluding any adjacent fields of
parkland.
In addition, hotel bedrooms (but not other areas in a hotel) and those
parts of a hospital or nursing home where patients are treated or
accommodated

15. Intrusion into grief and shock

1) In cases involving personal grief or shock,
inquiries shall be made with sensitivity and
discretion.
2) A person subject to this Act shall identify
themselves and obtain permission before entering
public and private areas to pursue enquiries.
3) A person subject to this Act shall treat all subjects
of news coverage with respect and dignity,
showing particular compassion to victims of crime
or tragedy.

16. Gender and non-discrimination

1) Women and men shall be treated equally as news subjects and
news
sources.
2) A person subject to this Act shall not discriminate directly or
indirectly against any person on any ground, including race, sex,
pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin,
colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress,
language or birth.

17. Financial journalism

1) A person subject to this Act shall not use financial
information they receive in advance for their own
benefit and shall not pass the information to
others.
2) A person subject to this Act shall not publish or
broadcast about shares, securities and other
market instruments in whose performance they
know they or their close families have a
significant financial interest, without disclosing
the interest to the editor.
 3) Journalists shall not buy or sell, directly or
through nominees or agents, shares or securities
and other market instruments about which they
intend to publish in the near future.

18. Letters to the editor

1) An editor who decides to open a column on a
controversial subject is not obliged to publish all
the letters received in regard to that subject. The
editor may select and publish only some of them
either in their entirety or the gist thereof.
However, in exercising this right, the editor shall
adhere to this code.
2) The editor shall have the discretion to decide at
which point to end the debate in the event of a
rejoinder upon rejoinder by two or more parties
on a controversial subject.

19. Protection of children

1) The definition of a child shall be as defined in the
Childrens Act cap 141
2) In all circumstances, a person subject to this Act
shall put the best interest of the child first.
3) A person subject to this Act shall generally not
publish or broadcast images or sounds from
children without consent of a parent or guardian.
4) Children shall not be identified in cases
concerning sexual offences, whether as victims,
witnesses or defendants.
5) Except in matters of public interest, for example,
cases of child abuse or abandonment, journalists
shall not normally interview or photograph
children on subjects involving their personal
welfare in the absence, or without the consent, of
a parent or other adult who is responsible for the
children.
6) Children shall not be approached or
photographed while at school and other formal
institutions without the permission of the
responsible authority.
7) In adhering to this clause, a person subject to this
Act shall always take into account specific cases
of children in difficult circumstances.
 8) A person subject to this Act shall observe the
watershed period as defined in the Kenya
information and Communication Act Cap 411 A

20. Victims of sexual offences

The media shall not identify victims of sexual assault
or publish material likely to contribute to such
identification unless expressly authorized in writing
by the victim

21. Use of Images and names

1) As a general rule, a person subject to this Act
shall apply caution in the use of images and
names and shall avoid publication when there is a
possibility of harming the persons concerned.
2) Manipulation of images in a manner that distorts
reality and accuracy of news shall be avoided.
3) Images of grief, disaster and those that embarrass
and promote sexism shall be discouraged.

22. Innocent relatives and friends

A person subject to this Actshall not identify
relatives or friends of persons convicted or
accused of crime unless the reference to them is
necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting
of the crime or legal proceedings.

23. Acts of violence

1) person subject to this Act shall avoid presenting
acts of violence, armed robberies, banditry and
terrorist activities in a manner that glorifies such
anti-social conduct.
2) A person subject to this Act shall not allow their
platform to be used for publications or broadcasts
which tend to encourage or glorify social evils,
warlike activities, ethnic, racial or religious
hostilities.

24. Advertisements
1) The editor shall not allow any advertisement which
is contrary to any written law.
2) The editor shall be guided by the advertiser’s code
of conduct issued under this Act.
24. Hate speech
1) Quoting persons making derogatory remarks
based on ethnicity, race, creed, colour and sex
shall not be allowed.
2) Racist or negative ethnic terms shall not be
allowed
3) Careful account shall be taken of the possible
effect upon the ethnic or racial group concerned,
and on the population as a whole, and of the
changes in public attitudes as to what is and what
is not acceptable when using such terms.

25. Access to Information

A person subject to this Act shall adhere to the
provisions of part iii of the Access to Information
Act when seeking information.

26. Information and Warnings

A person subject to this Act shall warn viewers
before publication or broadcast which contains
scenes of violence, sexually explicit and graphic
content.

27. Public interest

1) Where any Clause in this code create exceptions, which may be
covered by
invoking the public interest, such as
a) detecting or exposing crime or a serious misdemeanour
b) protecting public health and safety
c) preventing the public from being misled by some statement or
action of an individual or organization.
2) In any cases raising issues beyond these three definitions the
Council will
require a full explanation by the editor of the publication involved,
seeking to demonstrate how the public interest was served.

28. Editor’s responsibilities

1) The editor shall assume the responsibility for all
content, including advertisements, on their media
platform.
2) If responsibility is disclaimed, this shall be
explicitly stated beforehand.