Media Fails To Capture Real Issues In Rigathi Vs Martha Debate

On Tuesday, the airwaves were filled with conversation about the debate between Martha Karua, deputy presidential candidate for Azimio, and Righathi Gachagua, deputy presidential candidate for Kenya Kwanza. Kenyans expected fireworks.

The two candidates were equal to the task in articulating issues as per the asked questions but the Kenyan media, which seemed to have lost focus, terribly let down the candidates and Kenyans by failing to ask questions on the real issues affecting Kenyans.

The debate took 90 minutes and within the period, the moderators terribly failed to ask questions about; the cost of living, the ballooning debt in Kenya, how to help the SMEs across the country, and the state of the education sector especially the CBC, among others.

Bwana @jamessmart, in those “carefully selected questions,” there was none on SMEs, manufacturing, education, debt levels, unfriendly taxation, unemployment?

— Juma G 🇰🇪 (@jumaf3) July 19, 2022

It is okay that the moderators looked at the issue of integrity and why the country needs leaders with integrity. But who doesn’t know Kenyans? When it comes to elections, we forgive and forget about all the sins of the politicians and turn them into saints. Kenyans are more easily swayed by rhetoric than anything else.

At some point, Rigathi Gachagua gained some wisdom and told the moderators to start asking about the real issues that are affecting Kenyans like the cost of living. But the posh journalists seem to have been told to stick to the notes given to them.

The Presidential Debates are coming up next Tuesday and we do hope that serious questions about our country will be asked. Forget about the handshake. It happened. We cannot continue mourning the past. We need to discuss real issues, not innuendos.

The Media Council of Kenya should relook at the kind of questions that candidates are being asked.

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