The Crime Journalists Association of Kenya (CJAK) has condemned an incident where some journalists were attacked at DCI headquarters in Nairobi.
It is reported that Citizen TV’s videographer and Features reporter Agnes Oloo was physically wrestled, by a police officer who is heard threatening to destroy her camera.
The journalists were on assignment to cover the grilling of Kiambu County Senator Karungo Thangw’a, summoned over chaos at an event in Limuru.
“A peaceful exercise turned hostile when plain-cloth police officers attacked members of the pressTV47 journalist William Moige was also harassed, with his phone confiscated and police demanding that he deletes footage,” CJAK Secretary General Brian Obuya stated.
He added that so far the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, has since apologized for the incident, describing the officer involved as “overzealous.”
DCI boss Amin Mohamed has since described the incident as isolated but the Association says this is part of a deliberate and systematic pattern of harassment, intimidation, and impunity targeting journalists, which has escalated over the past two years.
The SG singled out the case of journalist Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki who was shot four times by a police officer while covering the demonstrations during the recent anti-tax protests which left her with life threatening injuries.
He regretted that despite clear evidence, no action has been taken against the officer responsible for this life-threatening assault.
“Just this week, a member of the esteemed CJAK – was summoned by the DCI and threatened with criminal charges unless he revealed the source of a story he was pursuing,” the statement reads in part.
Pointing out, “Journalists are constitutionally protected from revealing their sources, a cornerstone of investigative reporting,” adding that the recent acts against journalists violate the Kenyan Constitution.
For this reason, the Association demanded action taken of the officers who committed the offenses, accountability of past actions and return of property among others.