Community Radio for cohesion and integration during Kenya’s 2017 post-election violence: A study of Migori County

Abstract

Kenya’s elections are mostly marred with violence, especially after announcements of presidential results. Peace and media experts on the other hand have blamed Kenyan media for fueling cases of post-poll conflicts. It is in this understanding that this study assessed the contents of community radios in Migori County to investigate the role they played in promoting cohesion and integration during the 2017 Kenya’s post-election violence. The research, which was conducted in Migori town, studied five radio stations namely; Milambo, Onagi, Anyuola, Rameny and Tarumbeta which are located within Migori County. The specific objectives were: to assess the extent to which the 2017 post-election violence affected residents of Migori town; to establish if the five stations developed contents that promoted cohesion and integration during the violence and to assess the extent to which the contents aired on the radio stations promoted cohesion and integration among residents of Migori town. Study was a survey that utlilised mixed research approach where qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were used. Systematic random sampling was employed to administer 399 questionnaires. For qualitative data, 21 key informants were purposeively selected and interviewed. The quantitative data collected was analysed using SPSS while qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. From the study it was found and concluded that Community Radio, if professionally used, promotes cohesion and integration during post-poll conflicts. The study has recommended that in order to reduce incessant post-poll violence in Kenya, the relevant stakeholders should work together to air contents that enhance cohesion and integration in order to curb violence recurrence. Policies should be developed and funding availed to help facilitate matters media and peace.