Kenyan Priest Appointed Clean Content Ambassador Plans to Increase Awareness in Schools

According to the member of the Clergy of Nyeri Archdiocese, his appointment should be considered a good chance for the Church to double her efforts in championing clean content among artists in the East African country.

Fr. Ndegwa who is the Director of Caritas in the Archdiocese of Nyeri says the Catholic Church has been working closely with the Kenyan government to ensure that there is dissemination of clean content among the young population in Kenya.

“I have been very instrumental in involving the Church in activities which will cut down consumption of harmful media content in the country. As a church, we have been trying to rehabilitate those who have already been affected,” the Priest who doubles as the Coordinator of the Catholic Peace and Justice Commission (CPJC) in the Kenyan Archdiocese further said.

Kenya has recently been suffering from negative and “unclean” media content, the Catholic Priest notes, something he says has caused a lot of harm among the country’s young population.

“Within the Archdiocese of Nyeri, a young man recently killed all his family members following a domestic quarrel. The man said he watched a movie called “The Killing Eve” which prepared him to carry out the lethal attack,” the Priest recalled the January incident.

He added in reference to negative media content, “If the content was not available for consumption in the country, the tragic event would not have occurred.”

Fr. Ndegwa also gave an account of how a recent World Rally Championship (WRC) event in the country was turned from a sporting discussion to a forum for “alcoholism and irresponsible sexual behavior.”

“This was supposed to be a moment for Kenya to celebrate the first safari rally event 19 years since it was suspended. Instead of that, young people went to Naivasha and used the event to display immorality,” lamented the Priest of the event, which was held in Naivasha, a road distance of some 92 kilometers North West of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi.  

He said that some locals with many followers took part not in popularizing the actual rally event but other immoral escapades within the particular sporting vicinity.

KFCB, the State corporation body charged with regulating the creation, broadcasting, possession, distribution and exhibition of film content in the country, recently launched a program dubbed “Sinema Mashinani”, a Swahili term loosely translating to cinema in the rural areas, an exhibition drive meant to distribute clean cinema content in villages across the country.

“Serving in an Archdiocese that predominantly covers rural areas, my plan in the new position and with the ‘Sinema Mashinani’ program is to work closely with KFCB and other relevant government agencies to spread awareness in the villages through clean content distribution,” Fr. Ndegwa noted in the July 2 interview.

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The three others who were appointed along with Fr. Ndegwa include Nyeri County Commissioner, Lyford Kibaara, the former First Lady of Nyeri County who is the Executive Director of Amani Foundation, Margaret Gachagua, and the Chairlady of the Grassroots Women Association, Faith Muthoni.

Together with the three, Fr. Ndegwa who is a trained journalist will work in a partnership with the film classification board to ensure that children and the general public are guarded from consumption of dirty media content.

Speaking during the coronation ceremony, the CEO of KFCB, Dr. Ezekiel Mutua acknowledged with appreciation that longstanding partnership between his entity and Nyeri County leaders saying the collaboration will continue in view of championing clean content campaigns in the Central Region of Kenya. 

“We need to speak against dirty content in one voice. We have a collective responsibility to protect children from exposure to harmful content,” Dr. Mutua said.

He urged the media to play its role as the watchdog of society, safeguarding moral values in Kenya.

Film and media content, Dr. Mutua said, “influence behavior and the thinking of consumers, especially children who are most impressionable.”

“KFCB shall continue to partner with like-minded public and private sector organizations to champion moral values and protect children from exposure to harmful content,” Dr. Mutua during the June 24 ambassadors’ coronation event, adding, “We are not against artists. What we are asking them is to produce content that promotes positive social values.”