Content of Vernacular Radio Stations Programs and Public Participation in Devolved Governance in Nyeri County, Kenya

Abstract

Public participation in Kenyan counties still remains a mystery although many efforts have been put in place to achieve it. This is so because many county governments have documented use of public participation in governance without indicating a clear program to show how it is actualized. Media, including vernacular radio, is mentioned as one of the avenues for public participation but the question of how this happens remains unanswered. This study aimed to find out the influence of the content of vernacular radio stations programs on public participation in devolved governance. The study employed a mixed method research design. The target population was 661,156 Nyeri County residents and officials of vernacular radio stations that have listenership in Nyeri. The pyramid method developed by Krejecie and Morgan was used to arrive at the sample size of 384 county residents while purposive sampling technique was used to select Kameme FM and its three officials. Data was collected through questionnaires and interview guides. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques through Statistical Package for Social Sciences while Content Analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. Graphs and tables were used for presentations. The outcome was that there is a strong positive correlation between content of Vernacular Radio Stations Programs and public participation in devolved governance. The study recommends that more attention be given to content of these vernacular programs for they contribute to public participation in governance issues. Key words: Public participation, vernacular radio programs, devolved governance, Nyeri, Karatina