A Senior KNA journalist was on Thursday roughed up by Administration Police officers attached to Tana River .
Emmanuel Masha was taking photographs of contractors who were demanding their payments at the governor’s office when the incident happened.
Trouble started after the contractors accused the county of failing to pay their dues for projects done.
"They chased away county officials in the department of finance and occupied their offices", a source told the Star.
Masha got into trouble when he rushed to the scene and started taking pictures of the drama.
When the officers questioned why he was taking pictures he told them, ‘I am on duty just like you’.
Two APs confronted him grabbed his camera and chased him away from the compound.
When the contractors saw the journalist being roughed up, they booed and heckled the officer for interfering with press freedom.
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Earlier the APs had attempted to stop the contractors from addressing the media.
It took the intervention of the County Administration Commander, Mark Kirwa, for the officers to release the camera after deleting all the photographs and footage.
In their complaint, the contractors alleged that only allies of the governor were getting their payments.
“The annoying thing is that some people who were awarded contracts recently have already received their payments,” one of the contractors said.
The contractors said some of them took loans to implement the projects but are yet to complete paying them to the banks.
Currently, they said some banks have threatened to auction their property.
Governor Dado is said to be out of the country on official duties
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