CA Cracks the Whip on Slopes Media’s Mt. Kenya TV

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has taken stern action on Mt. Kenya Tv for a host of violations against the Authority’s programming standards. CA received a complaint about content that aired on Mt. Kenya Television concerning a movie that “contained scenes of sexually explicit content, drug abuse, robbery and violence” in blatant breach of the Programming Code and the ICT sector law.

Free Jimmy is an adult-oriented animation film involving four friends who work at a circus, a group of animal activists, an opposing group of hunters, and a drug-addicted circus elephant. The movie aired on the 19th of April at precisely 2:00 pm – an apparent watershed period when most children are home for the school holidays. Citing a problem with this, CA stated that “there was harm to the minors who may have been exposed to the offensive content,” the Authority highlighted in its statement.

The Communications Authority of Kenya held Mt. Kenya Tv accountable for various violations; parts of the Kenya Information and Communications (Broadcasting) Regulations of 2009, the Kenya Information and Communications (Consumer Protection) Regulations of 2010, the intellectual property rights against the Kenya Copyright Board’s (KECOBO) requirements, amongst others.

In a written response to the Authority, Slopes Media House Limited – owners of Mt. Kenya Television – acknowledged that the content aired was indeed inappropriate for the watershed period, and further attributed the mistake to a content mix-up in the control room. They were, however, unable to explain how the offensive material found its way into the content server in the first place.

As a result of this unfortunate mishap, CA through Director-General Dr. Mercy Wanjau, has ordered Mt. Kenya Tv off the airwaves for a period spanning 30 days. They have also demanded that all staff of the station undergo mandatory training on the Programming Code, and fined the media house KES 500,000 – a slap on the wrists – for a host of other issues raised long before.