- At least five journalists covering the January 5 raid on a bar in Nairobi were injured.
- The raid was part of a broader crackdown against the smoking of shisha pipes, which may contain tobacco and are illegal in Kenya.
Image: FILE
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for a transparent and immediate investigation into reports that private security personnel assaulted and harassed at least five journalists covering a January 5 raid on a bar in Nairobi.
CPJ’s Sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo, in a statement, challenged authorities to swiftly investigate the attack on the five during a drug enforcement operation and ensure all perpetrators are brought to account through a transparent process.
“This is the only way to send a message that attacks on the press will not be tolerated,” Mumo said.
Mumo said police and other state authorities should also take steps to ensure that journalists who cover their operations are protected from harm.
During the operation, officials from the National Authority for the Campaign against Drug Abuse (Nacada) and police officers raided the joint in the Lavington area.
The raid was part of a broader crackdown against the smoking of shisha pipes, which may contain tobacco and are illegal in Kenya.
Bouncers at the club are said to have resisted arrests and instead launched attacks on the journalists and several police officers.
During the raid, Jane Kibira, a camera operator with the state-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), was stabbed in the back, and Boniface Bogita, a photographer with the privately-owned Nation Media Group, was stabbed twice in the ribs, according to separate reports by the journalists’ media outlets.
Boniface Okendo, a photographer with privately owned media house The Standard Media Group, sustained injuries to his arms and legs during the attack.
Okendo is reported to have had his camera confiscated, according to a report by his outlet, which also said a Standard Media Group camera operator, Jackson Kibet, “managed to escape with few injuries but had his memory card confiscated.”
The report did not clarify how the journalists were injured.
The Standard reported that Bogita and Okendo were treated in a hospital, and KBC reported on January 6 that Kibira had been treated and discharged from a hospital.
Lawrence Tikolo, a camera operator with the privately owned broadcaster Citizen TV, was punched in the ribs and had his camera “vandalized,” the media outlet reported.
In a statement published on X, formerly known as Twitter, NACADA condemned the violence by security officers and said it led to the “hospitalisation of some of the victims.”
Police officers said they arrested 21 people in connection with the incident, according to the news reports.
On January 8, Nicholas Kosgei, the head of enforcement at Nacada, told CPJ that investigations were still ongoing and suspects would be arraigned this week.
Media reports indicated that the police recovered a knife at the scene believed to have been used in the attack.