This archive report was first published on 11 July 2019.
Democracy thrives in the letters pages of newspapers, where readers can air their views freely. However, a clique of writers has been accused of monopolizing this forum in NMG newspapers, leaving others frustrated and wondering why their letters are not being published.
According to statistics, between January 1 and September 24, 2015, Prof X.N. Iraki, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi's School of Business, had 180 articles published in "The Cutting Edge". This is an average of one letter nearly every one-and-a-half days. His nearest rival, Joe Musyoki, of Kajiado, had 84 letters published, which is one letter every three days.
Some readers have complained that their letters are not getting published because the editor has allowed the "super writers" to hog the forum. Njoroge Waweru, for instance, has been struggling to write letters for the past 15 years, but none of his letters have been published. He expressed his concerns in a letter to the editor on October 8, 2015, saying, "Is it fair to allow a few individuals to hog the Letters to the Editor forum?"
However, the letters editor suggested that the super writers were not the problem; the volume of letters received and poor writing techniques were. "Apart from the sheer volume of letters we receive, the other main consideration is topicality," the then-editor said. He advised complainants to write about something in the news or a debate on the letters page, or respond to a fellow reader, and not to be abusive or unbalanced.
Despite this advice, many readers have continued to write and pray without being lucky. They blame the monopolisation of the forum by the super writers for their predicament. Prof Iraki, in particular, they say, continues to command the letters forum.
However, it's worth noting that the super writers are, simply, better writers. They are competitive, smarter, cleverer, more provocative, and informative, and are easier to publish because they require less editing. Until NMG introduces a policy to limit the number of letters one can publish in a given period, it's unlikely that the super writers will be replaced.
