BBC World Service has announced a week of special output, Kenya Decides, for the 4 March Election. Reporting live in English, Kiswahili, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Somali and French on radio, TV, online and mobile, the BBC will be with Kenyans as they debate and vote, bringing their concerns and stories to audiences across Africa.
This is a crucial election for Kenya after the disputed contest of December 2007 which was followed by serious violence, and it is also the first under the new 2010 constitution.
BBC Africa Editor, Solomon Mugera, says: “BBC will have reporters bringing up-to-date reports from key places in the country, as well as reactions from across Africa and the world as Kenyans decide their future. BBC is the only international broadcaster to offer comprehensive coverage across all platforms – TV, radio, online, mobile, social media. In addition to news coverage, the BBC’s weekly debate, Sema Kenya, remains the only forum where Kenyans freely and frankly debate major election issues in their own national language, Kiswahili.”
Kenya Decides asks the questions and explores the issues which matter for Kenyans and for the rest of Africa – including the legacy of Mwai Kibaki, the ethnic division which flared so badly in 2007, the crisis of youth unemployment. The BBC will talk to the “cyber cops” policing the internet for hate speech, the designers who style the politicians, and the musicians who perform on campaign trails. BBC reporters will be across the country – in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri and Garissa.
The key voices from BBC Africa will be coming from Kenya. BBC Swahili’s Salim Kikeke will co-present the TV programme Dira ya Dunia live from Nairobi, from Thursday 28 February to Wednesday 6 March.
Sophie Ikenye will be co-hosting Focus on Africa on TV from Friday 1 to Tuesday 5 March, with Paul Bakibinga presenting Focus on Africa on radio from Monday 25 February until the election day.
Newsday will come live from Naivasha and Nairobi on Friday 1 March and Monday 4 March, co-presented by Solomon Mugera with the show on Friday before an invited audience. BBC Somali will be coming live from Garissa and Eastleigh.
@BBCAfrica and the BBC Africa Facebook page,will have round-the-clock election updates, linking communities across Kenya and the Kenyan diaspora. The #kenyadecides hashtag will ask why the Kenya elections matter, while BBC experts and reporters will answer the questions on important election issues.