Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) President Zubeida Koome during the launch of KEG’s 2026 Annual Editors Convention on September 18 / HANDOUTThe media has been challenged to claim its space in the electoral process by providing credible and objective coverage that enables Kenyans to make informed choices and elect accountable leaders in the 2027 general election.
Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) President Zubeida Koome said journalists have an important role to play in scrutinising candidates, their promises and track records ahead of the next general election.
Speaking during the launch of KEG’s 2026 Annual Editors Convention set to take place in Mombasa, Koome said the media must use its position to set the agenda for a peaceful, objective and accountable electoral process.
“Journalists are also stakeholders in the election. They need to ensure credible coverage to ensure an accountable team wins the election,” Koome said.
She urged editors and journalists to closely examine what candidates are promising voters and compare the pledges with their track records.
“It is the editors, it is the journalists who will be able to tell members of the public what it is that the candidates are promising the citizens and what has been their track record,” she said.
Koome, however, cautioned journalists to uphold accuracy, accountability, independence and objectivity in their coverage.
“Remember to remain accurate, remember to remain accountable, and especially this one, to remain independent and objective,” she said.
She said the media industry has a responsibility to help shape an electoral environment that promotes peaceful participation and accountability.
“It is important to remember there is an election coming and it is the players in the media industry who can set the agenda for us to have a peaceful election, for us to have an objective process, for us to have an accountable team getting into leadership,” Koome said.
The former news anchor also challenged media houses to invest in election coverage through capacity building of journalists, equipment and safety gear.
The KEG 2026 Annual Editors Convention will be held in Mombasa from November 25 to 29. Under the theme “Navigating the storm: Media Resilience on the Road to 2027, the convention will examine the pressures, opportunities and responsibilities facing Kenya’s media as the country moves towards the election.
The convention will bring together editors, journalists, media organisations, regulators, the private sector and the civil society to interrogate issues facing journalism.
The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has also pledged support for the convention, including financial assistance and an election preparedness training for journalists ahead of the event.
The organization will conduct a pre-convention election preparedness workshop for journalists based in Mombasa.
“We have already received a request from Kenya Editors Guild and I will say there is sufficient goodwill and support for the convention, first financially, but then we will also support the convention by conducting a training pre-convention,” MCK said.
The council said the training will focus on election preparedness and will be conducted in Mombasa before the convention begins.
“Before the convention starts, the Media Council of Kenya together with the Kenya Editors Guild will conduct an election preparedness workshop for journalists who are based there,” it said.
