Dear Kenyans,
The Kenya Film Classification Board, led by Ezekiel Mutua, has proposed many absurd changes & charges that are nothing but an egoistical tool against the freedom of expression of the people of Kenya.
The KFCB is spending too much time & resources REGULATING instead of PROMOTING our industry, filled with creatives who are struggling to beat rising Kenyan unemployment.
The government want innovative minds, but also want to tax those minds, and to add salt to injury, the government want the right to stop people from showing the public what the government is up to. This amounts to CENSORSHIP & total control over anything creative a Kenyan will come up with.
Creative Kenyans must be given space to showcase their creativity and talents and further create more employment to the youth especially with the state of unemployment in this country.Article 33 of the Kenyan constitution clearly says:
Every person has the right to freedom of expression, which includes--
(a) freedom to seek, receive or impart information or ideas;
(b) freedom of artistic creativity; and
(c) academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.
A Kenyan filmmaker has to go through unnecessary fees such as a rating fee, distribution fee, daily production license fee, amid other absurd fees that drive away international (and even local filmmakers) to other countries who have better incentives & PROMOTE creativity & art.
Recently, even Youtube creatives & vloggers have to part with absurd fees to upload their videos on Youtube, for instance 5,000 KES PER WEEK for shooting your video, or if you're a filmmaker, 15,000 KES for a film license and 1,000 per day of filming.
Not forgetting, rating fees, distribution fees and submission of script to KFCB for approval.
A good example of how KFCB curtails Kenyan creativity was from a Film Bill they recently proposed:
PART VII: STAGE PLAYS
Approval and Classification of Stage Plays
40(1) No stage play may be exhibited in a place to which the public or a section of the public is invited to attend , whether or not a charge is made for admission to the premises in which the exhibition is held, unless such stage play has been classified by the board
(2) A person who exhibits a stage play in contravention of subsection (1) is guilty of an offense and liable on conviction to a fine of two hundred thousand shillings or a term of two years imprisonement or both
Applications for classification of stageplays
41 (1) an application for the classification of a stage play is to be made to the Board in the prescribed form.
(2)The application for classification must be accompanied by; (a) the script of the stage play to which the application relates; and (b) a copy of every poster intended to be publicly displayed in connection with the stage play or its exhibition; or,
(c) audio-visual commercials , if any, to be used in promoting the stage play (d) if the stage play or poster intended to be exhibited or distributed in connexion with the stage play contains writing or speech in a language other than English, the Chief Executive Officer may require a translation thereof into English, certified to the satisfaction of the Chief Executive Officer.
The KFCB is clearly going against Article 11 and 33 of the Kenyan constitution. Not only that, but the KFCB is getting more & more irrelevant, overstepping its very mandate which is classification & rating only.
Now is the time to call for the disbandment of the KFCB, and either a thorough revision of Cap 222 (The Film and Stage Plays Act) of the Laws of Kenya, or its repealing.
Cap 222 has been there since 1962, and such laws are supposed to be amended to suit ever changing technological advancements and evolution of creativity & art.
We cannot allow the creativity of Kenyans to be curtailed by egoistic individuals who are weaponizing Christianity to support their absurd cause, thus we must unite as Kenyan artists, creatives, filmmakers, stageplay practicioners, and all Kenyans sick of people who want to exercise dictatorship on Kenyan creatives.
Upon KFCB's disbandment & the resignation of Ezekiel Mutua, ALL bodies dealing with film in Kenya are to MERGE under one organization led by Kenyan creatives and young minds who understand the evolution of art & creativity, and ALL mandates are to fall under ONE organization which will focus on PROMOTING Kenyan creativity istead of unnecessary regulations, and will provide better incentives for Kenyan creatives to be able to earn a living through their art.
The time to act is now.
#DisbandKFCB
Photo credit: Arnold Lakita
Updates
Reached 2,500 supporters
May 22, 2018
Reached 1,000 supporters
October 13, 2016
Reached 100 supporters
October 10, 2016
October 8, 2016
I am honestly overwhelmed by how many people have joined this effort to protect our creative freedom. We are nearing the first hundred signatures and it is entirely because you chose to take a stand. If you can help get this in front of just a few more people today we might finally reach that first milestone.
2,656 Comments
KFCB has constantly been overstepping its mandate in the name of protecting children and fighting homosexuality. Banning films that mirror the realities of our nation, it is equal to censorship by making sure that these issues are never spoken about.
I just think this is extortion in broad daylight, why should we even pay for a license. Take for instance videos uploaded on social media, most creators don't make a profit from it yet someone believes we should invest in licenses.. Not the way to go.
It's honestly very unfair.This is an outcry by a student in her first year,where are we meant to be getting that money per video?Kenya should help promote their content creators not discourage them with absurd laws.Where surely is local content heading?
Filming license 15,000 for over 41 minutes film Certificate of filming 12,000-20,000 Screen play 1,000 per day when you go out with your casts to shoot video There is distribution fee etc They only want us to feed their stomach by gunpoint
This is a ridicule to the art industry that should be supported to grow talents and create jobs. You know you are heading in to dictatorship when power sees art as a negative force... Meanwhile Nollywood thrives an Telenovelas monopolise our airtime.
FREE ERIC OMONDI!
Promote the film industry and stop ripping off filmmakers little money. Government should be subsidizing this ART, not treating it like a cash-cow. Do I need a licence to paint?
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Dear Kenyans,
The Kenya Film Classification Board, led by Ezekiel Mutua, has proposed many absurd changes & charges that are nothing but an egoistical tool against the freedom of expression of the people of Kenya.
The KFCB is spending too much time & resources REGULATING instead of PROMOTING our industry, filled with creatives who are struggling to beat rising Kenyan unemployment.
The government want innovative minds, but also want to tax those minds, and to add salt to injury, the government want the right to stop people from showing the public what the government is up to. This amounts to CENSORSHIP & total control over anything creative a Kenyan will come up with.
Creative Kenyans must be given space to showcase their creativity and talents and further create more employment to the youth especially with the state of unemployment in this country.Article 33 of the Kenyan constitution clearly says:
Every person has the right to freedom of expression, which includes--
(a) freedom to seek, receive or impart information or ideas;
(b) freedom of artistic creativity; and
(c) academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.
A Kenyan filmmaker has to go through unnecessary fees such as a rating fee, distribution fee, daily production license fee, amid other absurd fees that drive away international (and even local filmmakers) to other countries who have better incentives & PROMOTE creativity & art.
Recently, even Youtube creatives & vloggers have to part with absurd fees to upload their videos on Youtube, for instance 5,000 KES PER WEEK for shooting your video, or if you're a filmmaker, 15,000 KES for a film license and 1,000 per day of filming.
Not forgetting, rating fees, distribution fees and submission of script to KFCB for approval.
A good example of how KFCB curtails Kenyan creativity was from a Film Bill they recently proposed:
PART VII: STAGE PLAYS
Approval and Classification of Stage Plays
40(1) No stage play may be exhibited in a place to which the public or a section of the public is invited to attend , whether or not a charge is made for admission to the premises in which the exhibition is held, unless such stage play has been classified by the board
(2) A person who exhibits a stage play in contravention of subsection (1) is guilty of an offense and liable on conviction to a fine of two hundred thousand shillings or a term of two years imprisonement or both
Applications for classification of stageplays
41 (1) an application for the classification of a stage play is to be made to the Board in the prescribed form.
(2)The application for classification must be accompanied by; (a) the script of the stage play to which the application relates; and (b) a copy of every poster intended to be publicly displayed in connection with the stage play or its exhibition; or,
(c) audio-visual commercials , if any, to be used in promoting the stage play (d) if the stage play or poster intended to be exhibited or distributed in connexion with the stage play contains writing or speech in a language other than English, the Chief Executive Officer may require a translation thereof into English, certified to the satisfaction of the Chief Executive Officer.
The KFCB is clearly going against Article 11 and 33 of the Kenyan constitution. Not only that, but the KFCB is getting more & more irrelevant, overstepping its very mandate which is classification & rating only.
Now is the time to call for the disbandment of the KFCB, and either a thorough revision of Cap 222 (The Film and Stage Plays Act) of the Laws of Kenya, or its repealing.
Cap 222 has been there since 1962, and such laws are supposed to be amended to suit ever changing technological advancements and evolution of creativity & art.
We cannot allow the creativity of Kenyans to be curtailed by egoistic individuals who are weaponizing Christianity to support their absurd cause, thus we must unite as Kenyan artists, creatives, filmmakers, stageplay practicioners, and all Kenyans sick of people who want to exercise dictatorship on Kenyan creatives.
Upon KFCB's disbandment & the resignation of Ezekiel Mutua, ALL bodies dealing with film in Kenya are to MERGE under one organization led by Kenyan creatives and young minds who understand the evolution of art & creativity, and ALL mandates are to fall under ONE organization which will focus on PROMOTING Kenyan creativity istead of unnecessary regulations, and will provide better incentives for Kenyan creatives to be able to earn a living through their art.
The time to act is now.
#DisbandKFCB
Photo credit: Arnold Lakita
Updates
Reached 2,500 supporters
May 22, 2018
Reached 1,000 supporters
October 13, 2016
Reached 100 supporters
October 10, 2016
October 8, 2016
I am honestly overwhelmed by how many people have joined this effort to protect our creative freedom. We are nearing the first hundred signatures and it is entirely because you chose to take a stand. If you can help get this in front of just a few more people today we might finally reach that first milestone.
2,656 Comments
Petition Signed. I think the regulation is retrogressive. There is a disconnect between Ezekiel Mutua(Age) and the technological world. You don't oppress creativity, you create an app to detect and control content. We can't watch our industry doing down.
KFCB has constantly been overstepping its mandate in the name of protecting children and fighting homosexuality. Banning films that mirror the realities of our nation, it is equal to censorship by making sure that these issues are never spoken about.
I just think this is extortion in broad daylight, why should we even pay for a license. Take for instance videos uploaded on social media, most creators don't make a profit from it yet someone believes we should invest in licenses.. Not the way to go.
It's honestly very unfair.This is an outcry by a student in her first year,where are we meant to be getting that money per video?Kenya should help promote their content creators not discourage them with absurd laws.Where surely is local content heading?
Filming license 15,000 for over 41 minutes film Certificate of filming 12,000-20,000 Screen play 1,000 per day when you go out with your casts to shoot video There is distribution fee etc They only want us to feed their stomach by gunpoint
This is a ridicule to the art industry that should be supported to grow talents and create jobs. You know you are heading in to dictatorship when power sees art as a negative force... Meanwhile Nollywood thrives an Telenovelas monopolise our airtime.
FREE ERIC OMONDI!
Promote the film industry and stop ripping off filmmakers little money. Government should be subsidizing this ART, not treating it like a cash-cow. Do I need a licence to paint?
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Petition Signed. I think the regulation is retrogressive. There is a disconnect between Ezekiel Mutua(Age) and the technological world. You don't oppress creativity, you create an app to detect and control content. We can't watch our industry doing down.