Of #Mollis' tape, a high school girl’s nude photos and Kenyan deviant sex attitude

VIOLATED: A school girl after police officers arrested her and colleagues on a drug fuelled sexual binge in a public service vehicle. She was arrested with drugs concealed in her panties 

Kenyans have a history of reacting with shock, self-loath or utter humour to pubic sexual debates, a trend that shows how deep and diverse individual opinion on the subject.

In Kenya sex is a private matter often taken in strict privacy and never talked about openly in public due to taboo which creates controversial when we are faced with immediate public debate.

Takes for example in the past two days when Kenyan social media scene was awash about a sexual tape of a man called #Mollis (Morris) having sex with a girl who is unwilling.

In the tape, the girl is heard asking the #Mollis why he did not show up the previous day, before the man callously retorting if she needed sex then. The girl briefly requests #Mollis to come back tomorrow.

In the heat of sex the woman is heard groaning and pleading with #Mollis to stop citing being tired, pleas which are ignored.

Already #KOT has been awash with the tape with Kenyans creating funny memes while other condemning the tape as a show of the country’s intolerant rape culture and disrespect to women.

In the same day, a photo of a nude school girl arrested by police while on a binge in a bus has been circulated online.

The girl, in a major disregard to her rights was photographed with her bra visible and her white and maroon panties stuffed with bhang and matchboxes pulled down exposing her pubic hair.

We were shocked how high school students heading home from school could end up in a drug fuelled sexual frenzy in a public service vehicle.

As a country, we need to embrace our sexuality and make the debate to be more open from personal relationship with our lovers, children, parents and neighbours.

In this denial we often react with shock or humour when things we think of as taboos or private fantasies come out in public to challenge acceptability and show a wider behavior as a country.

The same reaction was treated to US biologist Alfred Kinsey in 1940-50s when he published the revolutionary Kinsey Report which is a collection of two books that extensively interviewed sexual orientation of approximately 6,000 Americans.

The results shocked the nation to realise sexual behaviours considered as ‘deviant” like homosexuality, extra-marital affair in women, sadomasochism among others were active in the society.

The report shaped research and policies on sex in the country. We need a similar professional report as what #Mollis’ tape and the school girl’s nude photo is but an informal report.

Try and consider how the public reacted when nude photos of Kenyans having sex in a public park at Muliro Gardens in Kakamega or leaked lurid SMSes sent to the popular Classic FM’s morning drive show.

Or how we are quick to consider gay as a non-issue in Kenya when our country top the globe in searching for gay porn on Google.

All these should throw a gauntlet to our social scientists to pull a Kinsey move and help scientifically map the country sex report.

My thoughts as a Kenyan journalist on The People #Priceless move

The media scene in Kenya and Africa has been ticked by The People newspaper, owned largely by Kenya billionaire president Uhuru, going free sheet or what their branding image dub #Priceless.

The move gained root in America and has taken the Kenyan media market with a storm.

But key questions remain: How can a priceless paper like The People sell? Will a vendor hustle to ‘sell’ a free paper when he has others with a cover price? Will he be paid for distributing a free paper? And lastly how will collection be gauged, will there be returns of ‘unsold’ copies?

But to start digesting the #Priceless move I will first think like a senior The People editor.

In Newspaper business the cover price never runs a paper, it’s the adverts which pay the bills. So this sacrifice on sales revenue will be the first price to pay in order for the paper, which is fourth in circulation after Daily Nation, Standard and the Star (I believe in that order), to pick in circulation.

The move is similar to Australia born media baron Rupert Murdoch who in a declining Britain newspaper market shore up Times sales by selling at a £1 discount against £1.20 for Daily Telegraph, £1.40 for Guardian and £1.20 for Independent.

The bold move seeks to open, reach and control untapped readers (millions of Kenyans who can’t afford newspapers) after the paper attempt to break even in the market failed.

The Kenyan newspaper market is saturated; Daily Nation which leads in sales has been selling 250,000 copies a day in like the last decade even though the level of education and number of middle class has increased in that period. In other words Kenyans don’t buy newspapers.

The static sale is further affected with internet, social media and blogs. Smaller papers have been hard hit here: The People took longer to go online while the Star uploads day’s news later on their website. This is to encourage readers to buy hard copy.

So, to end my thinking as The People senior editor, the #Priceless move may open a new untapped market to push the paper in the next level.

On the other hand reality on the ground is different since in Kenya it has been proven again and again that to increase circulation you work on content and not cheap publicity stunts. Here is the list of flops: Standard flip-around back page, the Star using pretty models to sell copies and NMG numerous folded newspapers.

As a senior Guardian editor says: “In others words, price is not the only determining factor for buyers. Editorial quality, the quantity of content and, for want of a better phrase, brand recognition, play key roles too,” Read him here: http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/jul/01/newspapers-mediabusiness.

Secondly as a newspaper designer whoever designed The People new look did a shoddy job, especially on the front page. The front page is so crappy for a national newspaper. In fact on the newsstand it looks too tabloid-ish, in the same league of DN2 or Pulse pullout. #NoPunIntended.

Thirdly with very low circulation and adverts The People will heavily rely on other company media outlets to survive. It will also rely heavily on media owners notably president Uhuru to pull it out without cover price the same way ‘Arab money’ gave Manchester City the EPL trophy.

And here ladies and gentlemen comes a huge media headache: editorial policy control by the media owner.

A free newspaper can be turned into a propaganda machine just the same way Vladimir Putin turns Russia Today or free communist party owned newspaper Pravada into a propaganda mouthpiece.

In Kenya, and any democracy, media history during election period shows that #Priceless papers (Those Sh10 gutter sold in matatus) often mushroom. One with national outreach can be Uhuru Kenyatta’s propaganda ammo (read an example in Britain here Eric Pickles: I'll shut council freesheets that publish 'propaganda on the rates': http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/apr/17/eric-pickles-local-authority-newspapers-closure )

And Uhuru Kenyatta, as an entrepreneur and Jubilee leader, has not been very kind to media. From ‘meat wrapping’ comment and punitive bill he has been out to stifle media (at least from what opposition said).

When Royal Media Services owner SK Macharia supported Cord in last elections he had ‘his’ frequencies stopped and Citizen TV staff poached en-mass to K24 TV. So #MeThinks this #Priceless move is to control other papers as a business competition (And ultimately control open editorial policy).

Lastly, I asked Angolo a newspaper vendor in Migori county where I ply my trade. Angolo started selling newspaper when I was still in high school.

He told me they don’t stock The People until after 1pm when nobody can buy newspaper (why let a potential buyer pick a free newspaper and kill my sales?).

He also said since all papers brought from Nairobi are expected to sell, vendors only collect them and at the end of the day re-sell them to ‘meat wrappers.’

So to move with #Priceless The People should have designated vendors or place them at strategic centers like banks, bus stops, hospitals, institutions, government offices, markets and ferries for maximum sale.

NB: Thoughts herein are my personal views.