The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) in a gazette notice dated October 3, appointed journalist Maina Muiruri as the new chairperson.
Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru named Muiruri as the chairperson of the council for the next three years.
Muiruri, the managing editor at People Daily for the 9 years leading up to July 2018, was appointed to take over from Julius Kenyik.
The Kenyan Institute of Mass Communication graduate spent 17 years at Standard Group as a Political reporter between 1992 to 2009.
He left the media house and joined Mediamax as an editor of People Daily in the same year. Muiruri led the publication as a senior editor for 10 years then quit in July 2018.
The journalist was named alongside Westlands Member of Parliament Tim Wanyonyi who was made a council member.
Roselyne Obara, a writer with The Standard Media Group, Susan Karago, Stanley Njoroge, Tabitha Muchemi, Patience Nyange and David Mghanga Mwaisaka, were also named council members.
This appointment followed MCK's draft on journalists accreditation guidelines that came out on October 4, 2019, seeking to crack down on the misuse of press cards.
In the new MCK 2019 draft accreditation guidelines, the council required all journalists to register individually before being accredited.
A journalist would have to be a Kenyan citizen and have professional training in the field to be considered for accreditation by the council.
The council also mentioned that a journalist would need a letter from their employer, necessary qualifications such as a degree or a diploma in the course and a portfolio of previous work done.
Journalists would also need to abide by the code of Conduct in the Practice of Journalism, observe the guidelines provided for by the council and always carry the accreditation card.
Once confirmed, the council would provide an 'accreditation card' that will have a functioning period of 12 months after which renewal would be needed.
Accreditation would be withdrawn in case of misconduct from the journalist or dismissal from the organization where they worked.
As of Thursday, October 3, media houses had fourteen days to present their contributions to the proposed guidelines.
