Authorities in Kenya have defended the new broadcast regulations, saying they were not meant to limit freedom of expression, an official said.
“We are going to be monitoring content, we won’t be asking them to show us their programmes before airing but we will monitor them,” Christopher Wambua of Kenya’s Communications Authority said.
He added that the country has seen a proliferation of obscene content being aired by TV and radio stations.
Kenyan TV and radio stations will have to tone down some of their daytime shows according to new regulations.
The document released earlier on Friday read:
Save for educational programmes which may require graphic details, no broadcasting station shall air programmes including interactive call-ins or discussion sessions whose content is suitable for adult only audience during the watershed period.
The watershed period is defined as between 5am and 10pm.
Popular radio stations in the country often broadcast explicit content during peak hours to attract audiences.
Many listeners say they are happy that the authorities are now taking steps to censor inappropriate material.
Broadcasters have until June to comply with the new rules.
Also banned from the airwaves are religious programmes that solicit money from audience in exchange for blessings.
On this Mr Wambua said they realised that consumers are being taken advantage of and that they have to take action.
Some preachers are thought to have built large fortunes from the practice, gaining huge popularity in a country where 84% of the population are Christians, although there have been cases of people suing them when their blessings failed to materialise.
Traditional churches have been highly critical of these types of preachers, describing them as false teachers.
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