The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has denounced the police abuse of reporters covering the Azimio protests on Thursday.
Theuri termed the incident “barbaric, repulsive, and retrogressive” and urged Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome to accept accountability for the police’s actions.
At least six journalists were hurt during the attack in Kware, Pipeline, and Embakasi South, according to the Media Council of Kenya (MCK). The majority of the targeted journalists, according to MCK CEO David Omwoyo, were photographers and cameramen. A plainclothes police can be seen breaking a media vehicle’s glass and then throwing a tear gas canister inside in a viral video.
Omwoyo characterized the actions as crime and hooliganism intended to obliterate any photographic proof of police abuse. In a radio interview with the BBC, Victor Bwire, the MCK Director for Media Training and Development, said the Council would file a lawsuit against the National Police Service.
From the beginning of the widespread protests on March 20, the MCK has documented 25 instances of police intimidation, assaults, and arrests of local and foreign journalists. On March 27, the second Monday of the large protests, twenty of these incidents were recorded.
On Friday morning, the police had not yet responded to a request for comment. The attacks on journalists have drawn strong condemnation from a variety of sources, including the United Nations, which urged the authorities to look into and bring charges against those guilty. In order to effectively report on and inform the public about demonstrations, the safety of the media must be ensured.