Kenyan media accused of pro-government bias

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan media, ordered by the government to halt live broadcasting during an election crisis, are censoring the opposition while covering government activities, the head of the industry's association said.

The government imposed an indefinite ban on all live TV and radio broadcasts on Sunday as violent protests raged over disputed polls that returned President Mwai Kibaki to power and triggered ethnic riots killing more than 300 people.

"I wish to express my disgust with how some of my members have handled the live ban," Hannington Gaya, chairman of Kenya's 20-member Media Owners' Association, said late on Tuesday.

He said some members applied the law "selectively", stopping coverage of Ralia Odinga's opposition Orange Democratic Movement while continuing to cover Kibaki's Party of National Unity.

"I don't think it augurs well for the free media," he said.

State broadcaster KBC and a privately-owned channel, K24, were among the culprits, he told Reuters.

The head of news of K24, John Mwenda, rejected the charge, saying: "We have done our best to be balanced. It is really a matter of his (Gaya's) perception and how people want to see things."

He said his station aired more stories about Kibaki's party because it was more active after the ban than the opposition.

BLAME

Kenya's top TV channels by audience, NTV, KTN and Citizen, have all abandoned live feeds for the time being -- a technology that had started to be used more widely during the campaigns.

But a journalist working for one of the three stations said the government ban was not a big threat to their work.

"Knowing what is going on around the country, I don't want to take the blame for something that I let go on air irresponsibly," said the reporter, who asked not to be named.

The main local TV stations used to switch over to round-the-clock news channels like CNN and BBC World overnight.

But when the ban came into effect, and international media networks increasingly started focusing on events in Kenya, local media abandoned that and screened repeats instead.

KTN television replaced its CNN feed with hours and hours of the Keifer Sutherland drama "24".

"When we met the Permanent Secretary at the Information Ministry, Bitange Ndemo, he said that news like those (channels) should not be shown," Gaya told Reuters.

"That directive was given verbally by the PS. Ndemo said it was too risky to put it in writing." Satellite broadcasters continued beaming international news to subscribers.

Government spokesman Alfred Mutua said the authorities had not put any limit on local content, just forced a delay, and were determined to ensure freedom of speech was protected.

"But as you are aware, there are ongoing skirmishes across the country that have to be contained and it is essential not to perpetuate them through incitement," he said.

Paris-based media watchdog Reporters without Borders has condemned the move as "dangerous and counter-productive".

"The news blackout could result in the streets being ruled by rumor and disinformation," it said on Monday. "It imposes a climate of intimidation and plunges the country into confusion."

(Editing by Daniel Wallis)