Media ombudsman accuses ECN of ‘media bias’
Media ombudsman Dr John Nakuta has bemoaned the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN's) selective use of media houses during last month’s national elections.
Speaking to Network Media Hub (NMH) during an interview last week, Nakuta reminded ECN that access to information should not apply only to the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC).
His remarks stem from several incidents that occurred during the elections, including the ECN inviting the public broadcaster to press briefings while omitting other media houses.
Nakuta said it is “unfortunate” that ECN seems to have made a distinction between media houses.
“Prior to the elections, all media houses were treated equally, but on election day and after that, they changed gears whereby they identified NBC as their preferred choice to inform the nation on electoral issues. That is unfortunate because access to information does not only pertain to NBC but to all media houses,“ he said.
Critics have often warned that allowing a single broadcaster to dominate the airwaves could limit electorates' access to information.
Press freedom decline
Nakuta’s interview with NMH also centred around the state of the Namibian media during the course of 2024, in which he highlighted that Namibia still enjoys high levels of media freedom.
“We still do not have physical harassment of journalists, no journalist has been arrested for doing their work and the media space is still free. The government must be congratulated for allowing the media to operate in safe space,” Nakuta stressed.
As for Namibia's media rankings, he noted: “It will be disingenuous not to mention the fact that we dropped significantly in our rankings”.
The drop is worrisome, he remarked.
“Political interference, especially in the state media, has been identified as one of the causes, especially when you consider the Johnathan Beukes matter, whereby the nation is still wondering why he was suspended in the first place,” he said.
Access delayed
He also criticised government’s failure to operationalise the Access to Information (ATI) law.
“The importance of such legislation cannot be overemphasised. It is specifically worrisome that the 2024/25 national budget actually made provision for the appointment of the information commissioner and his/her deputy – this has still not been done."
Nakuta noted that the ATI legislation was promulgated and published on 28 December 2022, almost two years ago, but it has still not been implemented.
"This is a disappointment due to the fact that the information minister told the nation earlier this year that the Office of the Information Commissioner would be operationalised this year,” he said.
Prior to the elections, a study conducted by the Office of the Media Ombudsman found that public media institutions gave the most coverage to the ruling Swapo Party during the pre-election period.
"The two state media houses have been giving the ruling party more free coverage and airtime than other political parties," Nakuta said at the media monitoring report released in August this year.
Speaking to Network Media Hub (NMH) during an interview last week, Nakuta reminded ECN that access to information should not apply only to the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC).
His remarks stem from several incidents that occurred during the elections, including the ECN inviting the public broadcaster to press briefings while omitting other media houses.
Nakuta said it is “unfortunate” that ECN seems to have made a distinction between media houses.
“Prior to the elections, all media houses were treated equally, but on election day and after that, they changed gears whereby they identified NBC as their preferred choice to inform the nation on electoral issues. That is unfortunate because access to information does not only pertain to NBC but to all media houses,“ he said.
Critics have often warned that allowing a single broadcaster to dominate the airwaves could limit electorates' access to information.
Press freedom decline
Nakuta’s interview with NMH also centred around the state of the Namibian media during the course of 2024, in which he highlighted that Namibia still enjoys high levels of media freedom.
“We still do not have physical harassment of journalists, no journalist has been arrested for doing their work and the media space is still free. The government must be congratulated for allowing the media to operate in safe space,” Nakuta stressed.
As for Namibia's media rankings, he noted: “It will be disingenuous not to mention the fact that we dropped significantly in our rankings”.
The drop is worrisome, he remarked.
“Political interference, especially in the state media, has been identified as one of the causes, especially when you consider the Johnathan Beukes matter, whereby the nation is still wondering why he was suspended in the first place,” he said.
Access delayed
He also criticised government’s failure to operationalise the Access to Information (ATI) law.
“The importance of such legislation cannot be overemphasised. It is specifically worrisome that the 2024/25 national budget actually made provision for the appointment of the information commissioner and his/her deputy – this has still not been done."
Nakuta noted that the ATI legislation was promulgated and published on 28 December 2022, almost two years ago, but it has still not been implemented.
"This is a disappointment due to the fact that the information minister told the nation earlier this year that the Office of the Information Commissioner would be operationalised this year,” he said.
Prior to the elections, a study conducted by the Office of the Media Ombudsman found that public media institutions gave the most coverage to the ruling Swapo Party during the pre-election period.
"The two state media houses have been giving the ruling party more free coverage and airtime than other political parties," Nakuta said at the media monitoring report released in August this year.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article