By Raylenne Kambua
On April 24, 2021, the Kenya Editors’ Guild held its Annual General Meeting and elections for members of the Executive Council.
Here is the new leadership of the Guild for the period 2021-2023:
- Churchill Otieno – President (Nation Media Group)
- Zubeidah Kananu – Vice President (Standard Media Group- KTN News)
- Linda Bach – Council Member- Print (Standard Media Group)
- Joseph Bonyo – Council Member – Television (Royal Media Services)
- Sammy Muraya – Council Member – Online (Journalists for Human Rights)
- Prof. George Nyabuga – Council Member – Academia (The University of Nairobi)
- Ruth Nesoba – Council Member – Radio (British Broadcasting Corporation )
- Pamela Sittoni – Trustee (Nation Media Group)
- Arthur Okwemba – Trustee (African Woman and Child Feature Service)
- Martin Masai – Trustee (Eastern Broadcasting Corporation)
- Rosalia Omungo – Secretary/ Chief Executive Officer
During the AGM, a raft of resolutions were made. A voluntary members’ welfare scheme was approved. It will allow those who join it to enjoy a last rites plan and will later be enriched with medical insurance.
The 2020 annual report proposed by the Executive Council (2019-2021) was adopted by the members. The Continuous Professional Development policy for the editors was approved. KEG will shortly be signing partnerships with various universities to jointly implement the policy.
The Guild also appointed an Ad-Hoc Committee to review membership policies and advise on newsroom safety issues. The committee comprising six members will be chaired by Joseph Odindo.
The AGM endorsed the Guild’s ongoing efforts to defend media freedom, working on media sustainability, regulation and legal/ policy reforms.
KEG President Churchill Otieno hailed members for participating in the first ever online voting process, and thanked them for the confidence they had in him in according him a second term. In his statement, he highlighted the Guild’s efforts in the community engagement initiative and efforts to promote media independence and professional development.
‘We commit to serve editors, the wider journalism fraternity and the industry at large. We commit to the freedom of media and expression .We will stand for the independence of editors in the execution of their duties,’ he added.
