Journalists with cameras on the ground. [File, Standard]
A letter sent by the Kenya Nutritionists and Dieticians Institute (KNDI) to the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) is unwarranted and a laughable document. It is not a simple advisory. It is a blatant, aggressive, and unconstitutional attempt to silence the media and control what Kenyans are allowed to hear and debate.
The Standard Group rejects it completely. And, shockingly, the MCK saw it fit to respond. KNDI’s misplaced wrath was triggered by a single, provocative comment on a Spice FM show about ugali. A fitness expert claimed ugali is a useless meal, and proceeded to qualify it as referring to the sifted maize meal that is stripped of fibre, nutrients, and oils. In a discussion on fitness that lasted an hour, KNDI chose to react to a soundbite taken out of context.
And rather than issue a rebuttal, write an op-ed, or call the station to get the facts, KNDI chose the path of dictators and a leadership that reaches for the axe before the conversation – silence the other voice. KNDI is created by an Act of Parliament and its job is to register and license nutritionists and dieticians. Its work is to maintain standards for its own members. That is where its power ends.
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The Act does not grant it the authority to vet guests for radio shows. It does not give KNDI the right to approve who speaks on matters of food and health in the public space. The institute’s CEO has taken the statutes governing his profession and stretched them into something dangerous and illegal. His directive is laughable; from now on, before any journalist interviews anyone claiming nutrition expertise, they must first get permission from KNDI. They must check if KNDI has “cleared” the speaker, or there will be legal consequences. Really?
By ordering the media to seek its clearance, KNDI is attempting to institute a system where the media has to rely on it for ideas. The institute cites Sections 33 and 36(b) of its Act, which deal with the offence of an unregistered person practising as a nutritionist. Giving an interview is not “practising.” A journalist asking questions from a researcher, a critic, or even a provocateur, is not the same as a person opening a clinic. The media’s platform is a space for discussion, debate, and yes, sometimes uncomfortable controversy. It is not an extension of KNDI’s disciplinary committee. To threaten journalists and media houses with litigation for hosting a conversation is absurd.
The Standard Group will continue to interview a wide range of voices, scientists, farmers, doctors, critics, nutritionists, and even KNDI officers, as our editorial judgment dictates. We will assess their credibility using our journalistic standards, not an absurd checklist. If you disagree with a guest, you are free to write or call in. In fairness, as dictated by our ethos, we will give a right of reply or redress where we err. That is how a free society works.
Still, we must ask, what are KNDI’s achievements that qualify it for this role of national thought-police? What can it show about the state of nutrition practice in the country?
To the Media Council of Kenya, we say this: your mandate is to uphold journalistic ethics and protect media independence. The KNDI letter is a threat to that independence. You must reject it, not embrace the farce. You must defend the space you were created to protect. Do not become a conduit for censorship orders through knee-jerk reactions.
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