In his letter to the editor (Standard on Saturday September 10, 2011) titled Vernacular radio stations should be scrapped, Justin O Peter missed important issues regarding the contributions made by the vernacular stations.
It is true that these stations have been misused by some wayward people in this country as well as other countries to propagate hatred and upheaval. No one can forget what happened in Rwanda in 1994 all because of the vernacular radio.
However, the pros attributable to vernacular radio stations outdo the cons by far.First; it is not possible to communicate with a sizeable number of Kenyan citizens who are cannot speak or understand Kiswahili—the Kenyan national language. The only way to educate, inform and educate them is through their vernacular or aptly put their mother tongues.
Secondly, the vernacular serves to preserve our cultural practices. Some cultural practices practiced by different ethnic communities can be communicated well using vernacular. There are so many people especially those who are in urban setup who failed to learn what their tribesmen do in issues pertaining to marriage and other rites. Through vernacular radios, older generations are available to shed light on the above practices.
Prof Ngugi wa Thiongo—a leading scholar—has been in the limelight highlighting the importance of vernacular. Much as he has lived in United State of America (USA) for close to 30 years, he still reckons the importance of vernacular in a given society. Indeed he has written a couple of books in Kikuyu language to underline this fact. One of the best ways to sharpen ones knowledge in his/her vernacular is through listening to the radio.
It is therefore important to have vernacular radio stations.However, there is need to censor what is broadcasted so that these important form of communication are not misused in any way.
James Mwangi Kanyi,
Nairobi.
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