The scenes playing out in Nairobi and other cities are not just about the political unrest that has gripped the nation; they also tell a disturbing tale of media suppression through violence.
CNN’s International Correspondent Larry Madowo, a familiar face to many Kenyans, became the embodiment of this chilling reality on Thursday.
As he reported from the heart of the protests in Nairobi CBD, Madowo was met with an unexpected and terrifying encounter.
A police officer, standing atop a pickup truck at the intersection of Wabera Street and Kenyatta Avenue, fired tear gas canisters directly at him.
“ Ah… that was aimed directly at me. He’s aiming directly at me. He’s aiming directly at me,” stated Madowo moments after a canister flew passed his head narrowly missing his head.
He added, “He’s shooting directly at me. Why are you shooting at me? Why are you shooting at me? Why are you shooting at me?”
“Why are you shooting at me?” Madowo shouted repeatedly, the pain and shock evident in his voice as a tear gas canister whisked past his chin.
It was an encounter that was captured on video, later played on CNN, revealing the harrowing conditions journalists are enduring on the ground.
Madowo wasn’t alone in facing such brutality. Citizen TV’s political reporter Stephen Letoo also found himself choking on tear gas, his emotions barely contained as he captured the chaotic scenes in Nairobi’s Central Business District.
“How police today have turned to harm journalists at the CBD is totally unacceptable,” Letoo wrote, his words resonating with many who have watched the clip of him struggling to maintain composure.
The violence against journalists didn’t end there. Cecilia Ngunjiri, another journalist covering the ongoing protests, is now nursing injuries inflicted by police officers during the Nane Nane protests.
The assaults on journalists have become so frequent that they almost seem routine, a grim reminder of the risks that come with reporting the truth in volatile situations.
Despite a nationwide protest by journalists last month, demanding an end to the victimisation of those covering the pro-reform protests, the situation appears to have worsened.
A particularly disturbing incident involved a police officer seen on video confronting and kicking a journalist outside Nation Centre. Even as his colleagues tried to restrain him, the officer continued his attack, forcing another journalist to kneel and plead for mercy.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has been closely monitoring the situation, documenting seven weeks of violence and intimidation against Kenyan journalists.
RSF’s Head of the Investigation Desk, Arnaud Froger, has condemned the brutality, describing it as being carried out with “total impunity.”
Froger emphasised the deliberate nature of the attacks, pointing to the case of journalist Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki, who was shot in the leg by a police officer.
The images of her lying on the ground bloodied and in pain, underscore the perilous environment journalists are navigating.
“The authorities’ failure to identify the perpetrators – despite instances where their acts of violence were caught on film – amounts to shameless impunity,” Froger stated.
“We have contacted the Kenyan police force and asked it to thoroughly investigate six cases of violence against journalists, to make their findings public, and to implement the appropriate sanctions against the perpetrators.”
