50. The response to this by CCK is that the petitioner has never been a broadcaster on the analogue platform;
that the licences in question relate to migration from the analogue to the digital platform; that priority is being
given to those broadcasters which were already broadcasting on the analogue platform, and the petitioner is
applying for a licence as a new entrant; and that CCK is not able to issue the licence to the petitioner as there are
court orders barring it from so doing. The respondents also counter that KBC had authority issued prior to the
enactment of the Kenya Information and Communication Act to provide signal distribution services and to form a
company for provision of such services. The respondents have not addressed the question of the closed set-top
boxes on sale to consumers by GoTV.
51. As the industry regulator, CCK under the law currently in force has a duty to implement the policy and law on
broadcasting.
The
ICT
Sector
Policy
Guidelines
policy
objectives
referred
to
by
the
petitioner
include ‘encouraging the growth of a broadcasting industry that is efficient, competitive and responsive
to audience needs and susceptibilities, provision of a licensing process and for the acquisition and
allocation of frequencies through an equitable process.’ The policy objectives also include ‘promoting fair
competition, innovation and investment in the broadcasting industry.’
52. The legislative and policy provisions must be looked at and implemented in accordance with the dictates of
the Constitution. As public entities, the respondents are required, in implementing their legislative and policy
mandates, to be guided by the national values and principles of governance in Article 10, as well as the
constitutional provisions that have a bearing on the operation of the media and access to information by the
public, specifically Articles 33 and 34 of the Constitution. Article 10 of the Constitution requires that the State, all
State organs and all persons observe, arming others, the principles of good governance, integrity, transparency
and accountability.
53. These values are echoed in the provisions of the Kenya Information and Communication Act which require
signal distributors to carry out their mandate non-preferentially and equitably, and in the provisions of the
policy that demand responsiveness to audience needs and promotion of fair competition in the broadcasting
industry.
54. The question is whether the acts of the respondents impugned in this matter have indeed failed to accord with
the policy and statute concerned, and have as a consequence thereof violated the rights of the petitioner and the
public to freedom of expression under Article 33 and the rights of the petitioner under Articles 27 and 34 of the
Constitution.
55. According to the petitioner, the operation of KBC as a signal distributor is unlawful as it has not obtained a
licence under Section 46O of the Kenya Communication and Information Act, 2009. From the evidence before
me, KBC, as the national broadcaster, was authorized to operate as a signal distributor by the Minister for
Information by his letter dated 28th February 2008. The grant of this authority followed the recommendation of the
Task Force on Migration from the analogue to the digital platform, which all parties acknowledge has set the
stage for the migration required by the ITU in 2006. This authorization predated the enactment of the Kenya
Information and Communication Act, which came into force on 2 nd January, 2009. The Transitional Provisions of
Kenya Information and Communication Act contained in the Fifth Schedule to the Act, Section 46R, provide as
follows: