The article discusses the significance of the past in the planning of media policies in two neighbouring countries in Africa, namely Kenya and Tanzania. The theoretical frame is composed of four concepts: social imaginary, collective memory, domestication, and liminality. The scrutiny starts from the last years of colonialism and ends with the presentday situation with online media. In both countries, the basic media approach is still distinctly top-down and focuses on authorities—either the state or market elites. Kenya appears as a representative of continuity, while the media history of Tanzania is filled with jerky turns. However, the Tanzanian mediascape comes closer to the ordinary person, thanks to the use of Kiswahili and colloquial vocabulary, while the press in Kenya remains very elite oriented. The far more advanced Kenyan information and communications technology (ICT) situation does not change the situation much, because at the citizen level, the emphasis in ICT development is on services, not citizens’ voices. The shadow of the state is strong.Peer reviewe
