Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) to get new Managing Director

Poghisio to name new KBC boss ‘by end of this week’

By Okuttah Mark

Posted Tuesday, November 2 2010 at 19:25

The new Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) managing director may be known by this Friday, a move likely to end speculation over the position.

The names of the three candidates short-listed by the KBC board chaired by Mr Charles Muoki, were forwarded to Information minister Samuel Poghisio almost three weeks ago.

Thirty-seven candidates are said to have applied for the job, but only eight were short-listed for interviews.

The three candidates under consideration are Mr Waithaka Waihenya, the acting KBC managing director; Mr Katua Nzile, a managing editor at KTN; and Ms Ann Njagi of Royal Media.

On Tuesday, Mr Poghisio acknowledged receiving the names.

“Three names were sent to my ministry while I was away in Mexico and a decision has not been made. I will make the announcement as soon as possible, probably by the end of this week,” said Mr Poghisio.

The minister could, however, not disclose who among the three is likely to be selected.

The KBC position fell vacant after the former managing director, Mr David Waweru, was sent home over controversy surrounding the broadcast of the World Cup football matches.

The government is said to have paid Sh75 million to secure a deal on the promise that KBC would look for sponsorship to recover the money.

Naming of the chief executive is critical to the corporation as it comes at a time when KBC is looked upon by other broadcasters to steer the country in the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting.

KBC formed a subsidiary, Signet, a few months ago to offer infrastructure distribution on a commercial basis.
The company will be responsible for digital signal distribution to all broadcasters.

Private financing

Kenya has set 2012 as the deadline for migration from analogue to digital broadcasting.

The government also indicated in July that it is in the process of splitting KBC into two — private and public — as a means of sustaining the corporation.

The move is aimed at making KBC more competitive while at the same time protecting its mandate of informing the public without the headache of pursuing profits.

The split has also been informed by the quest to have a commercial wing that is free of debt and tap into private financing from banks and the capital markets.

The Day God Walked Away-- A Kenya International Film Festival 2010 hit

The Day God Walked Away trailer onlineLe jour où Dieu est parti en voyage, or The Day God Walked Away, is a film that takes a very personal look at the Rwandan genocide, telling the story of a mother of two, a Tutsi, who is working for a Belgian family in Kigali when the genocide begins. The family leave her behind and she has to save herself amongst the slaughter.

The film features a powerful performance from the lead Ruth Nirere in what is described as rich and immersive film, and judging from the trailer it's going to be a powerful and emotional film.
The blurb for the film tells us a lot more:

Jacqueline, a Tutsi mother of two of the children, works for a Belgian family in Kigali. The family flees the machete-bearing Hutu thugs, but they can’t protect Jacqueline—they leave her to hide in the attic while looters strip the house bare.

Eventually, Jacqueline ventures out to search for her children and takes refuge in the tall grass near a pond, hiding from the voices that boast of raping and hacking up their victims. There, Jacqueline encounters a wounded man and nurses him back to health, but as he grows stronger her spirit undergoes a disturbing transformation.

Alternately terrifying and lyrical, this psychological study of the effects of a holocaust on a young woman is a powerful departure from previous cinematic treatments of heroism and white guilt coming out of the Rwandan genocide.