Extra! Extra! Read all about it...

The Kenyan print media is very different from what we are used to back home.

Firstly, there is no celebrity news to speak of - certainly not in the main news section; and as if to compensate, politicians are treated rather like errant celebrities of the Rooney-calibre, which leads to some interesting reporting.

Also, in the UK we are used to reading a newspaper that has an identity: it has an agenda and it represents a worldview with which its readers identify: The Guardian is the bastion of the liberal bleeding heart pinko softies with not a backbone between them; the Daily Mail is for the little Englander who masturbates singing 'God Save The Queen'. Now I have alienated at least half our UK readers and confused everyone else, I can continue...

In Kenya, the newspaper is a schizophrenic beast, the opinion of the paper at the whim of the writer. To illustrate, Saturday's Daily Nation (the leading newspaper in Kenya) had eight separate columns of editorial opinion, with at least eight different opinions. What's more, page two of the paper was dedicated to a full-page report about the abuse (sexual and physical) of girls in primary schools, with comment from the Minister of Education wringing her hands and promising swift action. So far, so gender equality on the march? Spin to the pull-out section where a double page spread is dedicated to what is wrong with women today titled: Beautiful, Available but Unlovable. This gem of lifestyle reporting would make the Daily Mail blush and breaks down into six critiques of women: Grooming (stop dressing like a slut), Money (stop chasing our money), Desperation (lower your standards if you're older than 25), Know it alls (keep your opinions to yourself), Twisted Nose (stop criticising), Emotional Wreck (stop showing emotion). Richard Keys and Andy Gray should move to Kenya: they'd fit right in.

With Kenya changing almost daily (in a crazy collage of the good, bad, ugly and plain old silly) huge stories are sometimes given only the modicum of scrutiny, and the dozens of voices in the paper offer no coherent opinion or analysis. In contrast, very detailed accounts will be given of intricate political wranglings - a bit like political Neighbours.

The biggest story of our stay so far came in December, when The International Criminal Court announced six high profile figures it considers to be 'most responsible' for the post-election violence of 2007, which killed more than a 1000 people and has left many more still living in what are effectively refugee camps in Kenya. The fighting ultimately came down to long-standing tribal grievances, which are frequently manipulated by unscrupulous politicians when it suits their whim.

One of the six suspects is Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's first president; another is William Ruto, a Rift Valley MP, who has not been out of the papers for a week since we arrived. Formerly a minister, Ruto was suspended because of corruption allegations then reinstated by the president then suspended again by the anti-corruption commission. Even before the 'Ocampo Six' (as they're popularly known) were named he was working hard via the newspapers to try and either discredit the ICC or get Kenya to pull out of it altogether. Since the announcement he has, unabashed, continued to campaign for Kenya to pull out of the ICC so it can try the suspects at home (i.e. not bother trying them at all). The President has backed this move by allowing diplomatic missions to other African countries seeking their support for withdrawal.

To add insult to injury, Kenyatta and Ruto have now formed a political alliance commonly known as the KKK (Kalenjin, Kikuyu, Kamba) to challenge their former politcal ally PM Raila Odinga. No tribalism there then. Their key message in the media is that they are the younger generation of politicians who will take Kenya forward (to even more corruption and larger atrocities, one supposes...).

Just to reiterate, in case anyone is confused, two figures who are suspected by the Hague for crimes against humanity, one of whom has a corruption case against him in court as we speak, have formed a political party to contest the 2012 presidential elections. You've got to admire their chutzpah. More importantly this nonsense is played out in the media with (deliberately?) erratic analysis. It smacks more of a media dodging bullets than of one prepared to demonstrate los cojones.

One of Kenya's biggest challenges is combating corruption or 'graft'. Politicians have, since Kenya's birth, enjoyed a system that quietly sanctions corruption – and not just the odd back-hander, but institutionalised theft, in terms of how government contracts are awarded, the use of aid money and other funds, and a general sense of entitlement from the privileged political classes. The media in this regard is inadequate in challenging the establishment on graft, kowtowing to accused ministers who still hold office and giving free reign to politicians who accuse anti-corruption efforts for being ethnically based without a shred of evidence to back their claims. 'You have accused our man, so you must be ethnically motivated' runs the cry... and the media run the story.

Kenya ostensibly has a free press, and is certainly miles ahead of many other African countries, but it is a free press without confidence in its stance. In the Standard yesterday an editorial from the Managing Editor, titled You either or for or against impunity, provided an accurate critique of the President. The Standard however pulls its punches at the end of the piece by issuing the disclaimer that 'the opinions expressed are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Standard'. So when Kenya cannot even try drug-dealer politicians, the press do not have the power or popular support to act as an agent for change.

The effect is compounded by the powerlessness many ordinary people seem to experience. Decades of exploitation by a supposedly democratic political process has made many dismissive of politics full-stop. Most just try to live their lives in spite of their leaders rather than pushing for anything better. There are signs of hope: Kenya's New Constitution is certainly a step forward, enshrining human rights for all (unless you're gay - more on this another time - or a woman who wants an abortion). Generally it has the hit the right notes and been a cause for optimism. But without a committed government and a genuinely unfettered press, will it ever be put into action?