Vernacular Broadcast and National Disintegration in East Africa

This paper assesses the role of the media in instigating conflict and tension in society leading to break ups of nationhood in various states in East Africa. The paper isolates two case studies, Kenya and Rwanda, to illustrate how the vernacular radio can be a catalyst to ethnic violence in the region. The paper asserts that there is great need to monitor the spread of hate speech through the radio stations that broadcast in vernacular languages. It is also revealed that the vernacular radio is more susceptible to the abuse by the politicians because of it accessibility and effectiveness in reaching out to even the non-literate members of the society. However, the researcher also found out that there are other means in which hate speech is transmitted such as direct address to the people by the politicians in meetings and through the newspapers. The paper recommends that East African states need to come up with more proactive policies and legal regulations to prevent the propagation of hate speech and any other divisive discourses that might cause ethnic violence. The paper contends that broadcasters need to hire highly trained journalists who may be able to uphold professional norms and ethics.