The media has been urged to improve their grasp of devolution and Kenya's constitutional framework to deliver more accurate and balanced reporting on county governments. This call was made at the Senior Editors' Forum on Devolution held at Enashipai Resort, Naivasha, organised by the Katiba Institute on July 25.

The forum convened senior editors, Council of Governors (CoG) representatives, Katiba Institute officials, and governance stakeholders to discuss the media's role in fostering informed public discourse on devolution.

Key Messages from the Forum

  • Understanding Roles: Irene Ogamba, CoG's Legal Director, highlighted the need for journalists to clearly distinguish between the responsibilities of national and county governments. She noted that misattribution of service delivery failures often skews public perception, especially in sectors like healthcare where functions overlap.
  • Balanced Reporting: Ogamba encouraged the media to report both successes and challenges faced by counties, urging coverage beyond political contests to include economic transformation and grassroots development.
  • Contextualising Service Delivery: She stressed that stories on delayed services should consider factors such as delayed national treasury disbursements to counties, which impact counties' ability to deliver.
  • Highlighting Innovations: Editors were directed to resources like the CoG's Maarifa Centre, which documents county innovations and best practices, providing material for evidence-based reporting.
  • Fact-Checking and Constitutional Literacy: Katiba Institute experts, including Executive Director Nora Mbagathi and Dr Henry Paul Gichana, called for enhanced constitutional knowledge among journalists to ensure factual and legally accurate coverage.
  • Transformative Constitutionalism: Litigation Counsel Joshua Malidzo urged journalists to adopt constitutional journalism that assesses government actions against constitutional principles, not just court rulings.
  • Historical Context: Kenya Correspondents Association's Oloo Janak emphasized the importance of understanding Kenya's constitutional journey, including past governance centralization and the significance of devolution in addressing inequalities.

The forum concluded with a consensus that improving public understanding of devolution requires journalism that is factual, contextual, and grounded in constitutional principles. Editors were encouraged to move beyond event-driven political stories to comprehensive explanatory reporting that clarifies the division of government functions, financing, and the impact of devolution on citizens' daily lives.