Because of general ignorance and apathy in relation to photos published at KSB as news items, KSB’s Editorial Board would like to state the following: Pictures published at KSB are usually gathered under two circumstances. A picture can be taken at a private event and published at KSB or it can be taken at a public event then posted at the blog site.
In cases of private pictures, there is usually an agreement with the organizer(s) of the event that the photos could find their way at KSB. A typical example is a private birthday Party. In such situations, people being photographed normally know that the photos may land at KSB and they always have the option of directing that their photos ought not to be published because of personal reasons. Such requests have always been respected because it is not the intention of KSB to antagonize news makers since KSB management believes that the blog site ought to promote unity and harmony within the Kenya-Stockholm community.
Then, there are photos that are usually harvested during public events. In law, there is nothing to prevent KSB from publishing such photos with or without permission. This is the general rule that applies to all Media outlets in Sweden (and the world). If you show up at a public event (say a demo or a picket) and a Journalist photographs you, or if you happen to be in the circumstance of an on-going public event (such as the on-going revolution in Egypt) and your photo is taken, no permission is usually needed before such a photo can be published.
Nevertheless, there are situations when KSB has always made “concessions” and pulled down pictures after extensive discussions or avoided publishing photos taken at public events (like Nyama Chomas) following individual requests. The policy of KSB is to try and avoid putting news makers in embarrassing situations as much as possible for purposes of harmony.
When discussing photos taken at public events, a case in point regards photos that were taken last Thursday at a picket held by “Kenyans Against Impunity in Stockholm” outside the residence of the Kenyan Ambassador to Scandinavia, Mrs. Purity Muhindi. Some guests who received “secret invitations” have contacted KSB to request that their photos be removed from the blog site because they were not aware about the circumstances. They have argued that they were simply invited by Ambassador Purity’s Office and that when they accepted the invitations, the concept of “secret invitations” did not feature in the situation. Luckily, these requests have been made with the recognition that the publication of the photos is not in violation of any law and that any “concessions” that may be made have to be on “humanitarian grounds”. The position of KSB is as follows.
If you feel that there is need for “concessions” following the publication of your photo at KSB, you need to argue your case in writing or by calling KSB, stating why the photo needs to be removed. Do not send proxies. Once you present your argument, it will be reviewed by KSBs Editorial Board and a decision taken. If your request is accepted, your photo will go down but if it is rejected, it will remain. Submission of an argument or a justification for a pull down does not automatically guarantee that a photo will vanish from KSB.
Exceptional Cases
Needless to say, we wish to mention that photos at KSB are usually published in good faith and without malice. They are normally published to show-case the beauty of Kenya-Stockholm life, not to antagonize individuals or create unnecessary tension. The photos are usually treated as “news items” and because of strict procedures normally followed by KSB’s Editorial Board, mistakes are rarely made i.e photos are rarely published in contravention of the rules and so news makers rarely complain. Since KSB came into existence in July 2006, only three photos have ever been pulled down and this should underline the difficulty of pulling down photos.
In one case, the job of a Kenyan hang on a photo at KSB under circumstances we cannot go into while in another case, Miriama, a Kenyan lady, faced an imminent split with her Swedish boyfriend because of a “dangerous photo” that was taken willingly at a Kenyan Party.
Apparently, Miriama had told her Swedish boyfriend that she was on “night shift” making money while, in reality, she was shaking madiabas and rubbing guys on their frontal lobes at a Kenyan Boogie. After getting properly zonked with red wine, the cutie forgot that she was supposed to be on a “night shift”, took a “dangerous photo” with a Kenyan dude on the dance floor and gave a go-ahead for its publication (without inspecting it) only to realize the error much later when she was on the brink of a romantic crisis. She was woken up by a friend who noticed the photo at KSB and called her immediately. The phone call may have saved her from deportation.
The hubby was still asleep and she did not risk moving an inch towards the computer for fear of arousing curiosity. Miriama understood that her white boyfriend was very curious and since she had just arrived “from work”, it could have been interesting for him to establish why she had to go online after a phone call. She waited until the hubby woke up then she immediately sent him to the shop by quickly drawing a fake list of stuff she wanted urgently because she was “feeling suddenly unwell”. She decided to make sure that the poor boy never tried to go online because KSB is their home page and there would be instant disaster if he ever clicked Firefox, their web browser.
The “shopping trick” worked perfectly well especially after Miriama threw in some “darling” and “sweet heart” phrases while sugar-coating the shopping request. She faked some very serious pain in the stomach which she reasonably justified by suggesting that she could be approaching a problematic menstrual cycle. The boy swallowed the bait perfectly well as the girl thanked Jesus Karast! She wondered what kind of photo notorious Osewe had published at KSB. She was told tacitly that if the boy ever saw the photo, “it could be over in a minute”. With the addition of a lie about a “night shift” multiplied by a guy she was told she was “hooked on like he was Mr. Right”, she had zero chance of working out a “middle way” to wriggle out of the mess. The photo was as graphic as it was telling.
To be exact, the photo depicted the chick and the Kenyan dude literally “bolted on the waist” with some kind of an “invisible screw”, legs tightly crisscrossed while her boobs had predictably found their “temporary resting place” on the guy’s welcoming chest. Worse still, the chick’s hands tied the guy up around the neck thereby forcing a “chin to chin” contact while the guy’s fingers were captured patched on the chick’s evenly rounded madiabas, almost giving a clear signal about huge possibilities under the sheets just in case there could be a follow-up away from the disco. A wicked mind could theorize that the guy was exploiting the dance to “inspect the goods” just in case they were lined up for consumption – talk about a “dress rehearsal” right on the dance floor!
Miriama, who looked like she was already on “yes mode” on the “mhanyo scale”, had her back to the camera but she claimed that her Swedish boyfie would still be able to recognize her “immediately”, a nightmarish scenario which she said, could plunge her into instant mapenzi crisis. The dude’s fingers, which were spread outstretched in all directions on the chick’s meaty “shock absorbers” covered the largest possible surface area. You can imagine lifting an average football from the ground with one hand to catch the drift. In fact, the fingers were easily countable as they appeared to apply some kind of pressure from behind to sustain the temporary fusion that seemed to last forever. It was surely, a dangerous photo!
The biggest problem was that Miriama’s “Papers” were not yet ready and suddenly, they were hanging on the poor photo. Every second was important because the boyfriend had not yet seen the photo. The case was well argued and the picture went down. Miriama has accepted that her example be used to show how dangerous publication of photos can be at KSB. The point is simple.
There is always room for negotiations and you can always try your luck because you never know. If you think you have a strong case, let us know because members of KSB’s Editorial Board are human, just like you. KSB welcomes debate on the subject.
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
Always some times in life there is tendency in married people men and women to do some evil things outside their marriage in cheating one another unless they are ready handed. Women are worse because of the way they dress up. Men also attract married women in some ways, and by that there are few who are honest with their marriage. Otherwise nature provides.
LOL!!!! Miriama must be a juicy woman…and her photo must have been a killer. Anyway, there is a bit of insincerity on the part of those wanting their photos pulled down because it was announced in advance that there would be a picket. Also, it is sheer pretence for some to claim they are not aware of the trend of secret invitations. When Prime Minister Raila visited in 2009, Mr Ngatia complained to him about the one-sided invitations by the Kenya embassy aimed to reject those labeled as rebels, who cannot bootlick. Whoever is invited to a function by the embassy ought to take it and accept that no law court in Sweden or at the European Union, will bar the publishing of photos taken in public. However, there is an exception to each case. A peek at some of the photos in Swedish tabloids of zonked famous people will remind you that appearing at KSB is a blessing.
Some people have just no moral.. I’d have kept her pictures up.