We cannot publish every item that is sent to The Cutting Edge column. We have only five slots daily and yet people like the complainant, whose items we’ve published before, mistakenly think that everything they send to us must be published.
We’ve recently run numerous complaints against Kenya Power and the complainant’s is just one of them.
Over the years, Watchie has been balanced and fair and remains so. However, items are selected based on how topical, objective, interesting and of value to the public they are.
We often publish items from Thika, as far afield as Garissa and Mandera, and other places across the country.
I’ve been published umpteen times in The Cutting Edge column by The Watchman. But I’m not shocked when I see people complaining and sneering at the editor for “refusing” to publish their letters. It’s a common thing.
The issue of readers complaining that their letters are rejected will always be there. Of course, the editor can’t publish all of them due to limited space but only picks the most relevant and those that touch on the public interest.
I believe the editor is trained and skilled enough to know what to publish or not. Just because the editor didn’t publish your article doesn’t justify the claim that the whole column is biased and selective.
I know the pain one feels when their letter is rejected but that alone shouldn’t make one start mocking the editor. That’s a threat to press freedom.
— Wafula Meshack, Rongo University
I refer to the complaint against The Watchman. People should keep on writing without giving up even when one letter is not published.
As I was revising the “Agriculture” section of the Science and Technology Paper H in the Junior Spot magazine in the Daily Nation of Monday, February 12th, 2024, I noted some questions that have wrong answers in the marking scheme.
One is Question 19, which says: “Grade 4 learners were preparing a nursery bed to establish carrot seeds. They used the tool drawn below [to] level the nursery bed. The tool used is called a—.” Possible answers are given as “spade, rake, trowel, fork jembe.” The tool that is drawn is a rake. However, the answer given is “fork jembe”.
The second is Question 20: “We get manure from the following domestic animals except: Chicken, cows, sheep, dogs.” The answer given is “cows”—technically meaning that we get manure from dogs.
The third is Question 21: “Which of the following types of soil retains the most water? Loam, clay, sandy, gravel.” The answer given is “gravel”, instead of clay.
— Dr Irungu Maina, Murang’a
