NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 17 – ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has appointed William Oketch as the Chairperson of the Media Complaints Commission.
Oketch, an advocate of the High Court and the former acting Chairperson of the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal, was appointed alongside six other commission members who will serve for a period of three years.
The appointments by CS Mucheru are contained in the in the latest Kenya Gazette published on Friday.
The other six members of the commission are: Henry Omusundi who serves as the Regional Director of Article 19( Eastern Africa), Nancy Achieng Booker, Denis Tuikong Kiprono, Esther Jowi Anyango Aduma, Lempaa Vincent Suiyanka and Polly Gathoni Waweru.
Oketch has over twelve years of experience in litigation, adjudication, media policy analysis, legal research and drafting compliance risk advisory both in the private and public sector.
He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management (MPPM) from Strathmore Business School; a Bachelor’s Degree in Law (LLB) from Kampala International University; Post-graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Kenya School of Law and a Certificate in Professional Mediation from the Mediation Training Institute East Africa.
The new Commission takes office at a time the role of the media and journalists as well as government’s commitment to uphold media freedoms has been heavily infringed.
The Media Complaints Commission is an independent body which mediates or adjudicates disputes between media stakeholders on ethical issues to ensure adherence to high standards of journalism as provided for in the code of conduct for the practice of journalism in Kenya.
The term of the previous Commission lapsed on October 3, 2019.