Uproar as police assault journalists while on duty in Nakuru County
Journalists scampering for safety after police officers lobbed teargas at them. The officers were preventing former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala from accessing Kirobon Girls High School in Nakuru County. Six journalists sustained injuries after they were roughed up by police. Photo/Jeremiah Choge
Six(6) journalists are nursing injuries after they roughed up by police officers while covering the chaotic arrest of former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala in Nakuru County on Wednesday night.
The assault, which took place outside Kirobon Girls one of the three venues hosting the drama festival finalists, left three reporters from Citizen TV, two from KTN and another one from Inooro TV.
The officers were blocking Mr Malala from accessing Kirobon Girls Secondary School, where Butere Girls' High School students were rehearsing for the play 'Echoes of War'.
Mr Malala, being the scriptwriter of the play, had gone to supervise the students' rehearsals following a court order that directed him to be in Nakuru for the 63rd National Drama and Film Festivals.
Agitated by presence of journalists, the officers started threatening them before roughing them up and teargassing them.
Videos and images which have since gone viral showed several reporters scampering for safety as a group of police officers pursued them.
Among the journalists who were injured are Citizen TV reporters Maryanne Nyambura and Evans Asiba, Peter Kimani of KTN News and Robert Maina of Inooro TV.
Nakuru Journalists Association (NJA) condemned the incident and accused the police officers of recklessly endangering the lives of the journalists in the line of duty.
According to the Association, the actions by the police were unacceptable, unlawful, and a direct attack on press freedom, adding that it was not the first time journalists had been assaulted by Nakuru police officers.
The journalists have called on the relevant authorities, including the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Interior Ministry, to take appropriate disciplinary action against the wayward officers.
“The actions by police are a serious threat to the freedom of expression and the right of the media to do their work without fear or intimidation," NJA said in a statement.
"The media plays a vital role in a democratic society, and any attempts to silence or intimidate journalists must be met with firm resistance and accountability," the association added.
The Butere Girls' High School students on Wednesday failed to perform their play, insisting that Mr Malala, the director of the play, be around.