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Kenyan Officers Attack Reporters at Nane Nane Event

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Kenyan Police Accused of Brutality Against Journalists During Nane Nane Protests in Nairobi

Kenyan police are continuing to target journalists covering protests, despite calls from local and international organizations to respect press freedom.

On Thursday, August 8, 2024, police attacked both local and international journalists who were reporting on the Nane Nane demonstrations. The journalists were subjected to tear gas attacks by police officers.

The use of tear gas against journalists appears to be an attempt to prevent them from documenting police brutality towards peaceful protesters. During the protests, CNN journalist Larry Madowo narrowly escaped injury when a tear gas canister was fired directly at him while he was broadcasting live from the streets of Nairobi. Madowo, who was reporting from the intersection of Wabera and Kenyatta streets, described the incident, saying, “He is targeting me, aiming directly at me,” as a tear gas canister narrowly missed his head. The attack was captured on video and aired on CNN.

The incident occurred shortly after Uzra Zeya, the Assistant Minister for Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, criticized the Kenyan government for police brutality and violations of protestors’ rights. Zeya stated, “In my discussions with President Ruto and senior Kenyan officials, I condemned the violence against peaceful demonstrators, human rights defenders, and journalists. I urged for the protection of fundamental freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression as enshrined in Kenya’s constitution.”

Another journalist, Cecilia Ngunjiri, was injured by police while covering the Nane Nane protests in Nairobi. On the same day, a police officer was photographed kicking a journalist outside the Nation Center in Nairobi.

Stephen Letoo, a journalist with Citizen TV, condemned the police actions, stating, “The acts of police targeting journalists in the city are entirely unacceptable.”

Last month, Kenyan journalists protested police brutality after Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki was shot in the leg by an officer while covering the Gen Z protests in Nakuru.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international organization monitoring police actions against journalists, has condemned the ongoing repression. RSF’s Investigation Head, Arnaud Froger, described the recent incidents as the peak of impunity for those committing violence. “The failure of government officials to address the police involved, despite some incidents being captured on video, is a serious failure to prevent impunity,” Froger said.

RSF has urged the Kenyan police to conduct thorough investigations into six reported cases of violence against journalists and to make the results of these investigations public, holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.

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