In the wake of the cowardly attack at the 14 Riverside Drive complex in Nairobi, journalists based in Nairobi exhibited real mettle as first responders in times of emergency and crisis. Indeed, the journalists went beyond the call of duty to cover the unfolding unfortunate event and acted heroically to save and marshal the affected persons to safety and secure areas out of the active combat zone.
While some journalists wore bulletproof vests and helmets clearly marked ‘Press’ as part of their media outlets’ standard operating procedure in the event of live coverage of a terrorist attack, the majority of them shelved all caution to do good. They helped the injured and those who needed immediate transfer to medical facilities.
Journalists providing cover to terrified victims and subsequently handing them over to medical personnel call for commendation.
Their tools of the trade such as video and still cameras, notebooks and pens were unused as they ran down stairs and in some instances ran close to burning vehicles.
To mention but a few, zoomed images showed local journalists in action, such as Roncliff Odit and Tomi Oladipo of the BBC Nairobi bureau office, Simon Maina of the AFP Nairobi bureau and Philip Ogolla of Nation Media Group, among others. Diligence and professionalism were also exhibited by the live coverage teams from Citizen TV, KTN, NTV and K24.
Journalists and communication practitioners were active on social media platforms and were at the forefront in sharing cautionary messages on fake news. This in essence was to forestall fake dissemination of information regarding the security and emergency operations at 14 Riverside Drive.
It was indeed most gratifying to watch the media joining state agencies such as the National Police Service, Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, the Communications Authority of Kenya and indeed State House in the clarion call to desist from sharing clips or messages of the cowardly attack. By and large, this call to action was heeded and the media deserve to be commended for their active role.
In their bid to inform the public about the goings-on live from the scene, the journalists and their broadcast media houses exhibited an equally professional mix of facts and details as provided by the Inspector General of Police in his public and media updates every two hours.
The regular updates went a long way in quashing any form of speculation, which would have caused fear and despondency among members of the public, especially those whose family and friends were still holed up in the complex.
This time round,media practitioners stepped up to the plate when it came to emergency and crisis action, and reporting on terrorism.
Head of public affairs and communication, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights