The Kenya Editors’ Guild (KEG) has condemned the physical assault of a journalist at the final HSBC Rugby Sevens game on Sunday at the Nyayo Stadium.
KEG termed the physical attack on Ruckiel Odikor by security personnel unacceptable and inexcusable.
“Violence is not crowd control. Assault is not enforcement. Any attempt to sanitise or rationalise such conduct is an affront to media freedom, labour rights, professional ethics and basic human dignity,” it said.
The organisation said event organisers and security oversight were directly responsible for the safety and conduct of personnel under their authority, saying they are culpable for acts of violence committed under their mandate.
“Journalists covering public events do so in the public interest. They must be guaranteed a safe working environment,” KEG said.
The guild said in case of a protocol or accreditation breach, such matters had to be handled professionally and without force or intimidation.
The organisation has called for investigations into the assault, a public disclosure of the findings, appropriate disciplinary action against the responsible personnel, and clear assurance from event organisers that such an incident will not happen again.
“Kenya's constitution guarantees media freedom and the right to access and impart information. These rights are not decorative clauses—they are enforceable protections. An attack on a journalist is an attack on the public's right to know,” KEG said.
The guild said it stands in solidarity with the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (Sjak) and Odikor, who is a member of the association.
It said it will not hesitate to intervene in any case where journalists or any citizens are intimidated or harassed when exercising their constitutional rights.
“Violence against journalists must stop. Without qualification. Without excuse,” KEG said.
SJAK had earlier criticised the incident, saying the assault goes beyond one sport or event but affects every sport discipline where the media operates.
“These incidents point to a systemic gap in the understanding and management of media relations within the sporting ecosystem,” the Sjak said.
The association also clarified that any conduct of a journalist that falls below an acceptable standard is addressed internally through their disciplinary structures, affirming the mutualism of professionalism.
