Category:Journalists

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Kenyan police target journalists reporting anti-government protests

‘I was the target and I believe my shooting was well planned,’ journalist Catherine Wanjeri tells reporter Shadrack Omuka. whatsapp-image-2024-07-17-at-10.34.30-pm_0.jpeg People cried tears and cheered as Kenyan journalist Catherine Wanjeri left hospital. This was days after the police shot her when she was reporting anti-government protests in Nakuru on 16 July 2024. Video posted on X showed the moment when they shot Wanjeri three times with rubber bullets across her left thigh. She needed surgery to remove the bullets. It was clear she was a reporter because she wore a press vest and ID card.

‘I don’t know if I can walk again properly in future,’ she tells New Internationalist from her parents’ home in Nakuru. Nakuru is about 156 kilometres north of Nairobi, where she is now recovering. ‘The police shot me at a close range. That policeman planned to kill me.’


gsn107jxoaunodb.jpeg Witnesses carry Catherine Wanjeri moments after police shot her when she was reporting on anti-government protests in Kenya on 16 July 2024. X: @MAJIMAJIKENYA. Kenyan police have not yet given information about the police officer but the Media Council of Kenya, local news, and many witnesses confirmed the shooting. ‘The police were throwing teargas at us,’ says Joseph Munge, a photojournalist. ‘After a few minutes, I saw my colleague was down and crying in pain. He was just about twenty metres away. I saw her in a pool of blood. Colleagues confirmed that police shot her.’ Angela Quintal is the head of the Committee to Protect Journalists Africa program. She said, 'The shooting of journalist Catherine Wanjerii as she reported on protests in Kenya is very serious after the press faced violence when reporting on recent demonstrations.’ One week before police shot her, a teargas canister hit her when she was reporting on another protest. ‘I was the target, and I do believe this was well planned.’ Police violence is now very common during anti-government protests in Kenya since June. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights says police have killed 50 protesters, injured 400, and arrested at least 600. Demonstrations against a planned tax increase are now nationwide demonstrations demanding government accountability and reform. Local media groups say that police have shot at, teargassed, sprayed with chemicals, and hit with batons and water guns journalists reporting on the demonstrations. ‘Justice for Cate’ – Catherine Wanjeri On 17 July, the day after Cathreine Wanjeri was shot, journalists in Nakuru marched peacefully to the police headquarters chanting ‘Justice for Cate!’ Many journalists also joined marches across Kenya on 24 July in protest at police brutality and the blocking of media freedom. Many wore white and held placards that read ‘Journalists' lives matter’ and ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’. Joseph Openda is the chairperson of the Nakuru Journalists’ Association. He says, ‘It is sad that there are people there to protect us but the same people turned against us. And there is no punishment for them.’ The Nakuru Journalists’ Association sent a list of what they want to the head of the Nakuru police. The list includes details about releasing prisoners, prosecuting the police officer who shot Catherine Wanjeri, making sure journalists receive protection from the police, and government compensation for Catherine Wanjeri. whatsapp-image-2024-07-17-at-10.34.32-pm_0.jpeg

The Nakuru Journalists’ Association sent a list of what they want to the police for justice in the shooting of Catherine Wanjeri. SHADRACK OMUKA. Armed police stood around Samuel Ndanyi, the Nakuru County police commander. He spoke to journalists and said we will investigate the situation quickly and he promised journalists ‘protection and support from the police.’ The investigation is now with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority. At least six witnesses have recorded statements.

No safety for journalists The latest attacks on journalists come after increasing limits on press freedom in Kenya. Last year, Kenya was 116th out of 180 on the Reporters Without Borders press freedom list. Kenya was 69th in 2023. Reporters Without Borders says ‘investigations into abuses against journalists usually do not result in convictions’. In October 2022, Kenyan police shot and killed Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif at a road block. At the time, Kenyan authorities said it was ‘mistaken identity’, but a team of Pakistani investigators said it was a planned killing. It wasn’t until 8 July 2024 that the Kenyan High Court said that his killing was illegal. whatsapp-image-2024-07-17-at-10.34.20-pm_0.jpeg

Reporters Without Borders says ‘investigations into abuses against journalists rarely result in convictions’. SHADRACK OMUKA Kenyan police also said it was ‘mistaken identity’ when they arrested Daily Nation journalist Macharia Gaitho. They arrested him on 17 July 2024. Macharia Gaitho asked for help at a police station after a car with two masked strangers followed him. At the police station, they pushed him into a car and drove him away. After his arrest, there were angry reports online of at least 30 cases like this during the anti-government protests. After his release, Macharia Gaithor told journalists that he disagrees when the police say it was ‘mistaken identity. He said, ‘They were looking for me.’ More than a month since the protests began, Kenya’s streets are still a battleground and there are now protests in Uganda and in Nigeria. Catherine Wanjeri spoke to reporters back in Nakuru. She said she hopes there will be justice for her case. 'They wanted to shoot me. It was clear I was a reporter ... It was impossible for the police not to know I was a reporter.'

NOW TRY THE ORIGINAL: https://newint.org/crime-and-justice/2024/kenyan-police-target-journalists-covering-anti-government-protests

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