Media Council demands arrest of goons who attacked journalists at ODM headquarters

The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) now wants Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai to act swiftly and apprehend security personnel who allegedly assaulted journalists covering a political event earlier on Thursday.

Reports indicate that the journalists, Moses Nyamori (The Standard) and Luke Awich (The Star) were assaulted by unknown persons while covering an ODM event at Chungwa House, in what has been labelled a politically orchestrated attack.

“The Council is concerned at political party orchestrated violence against journalists and lack of investigations on such and is calling upon the Inspector General of Police Mr Hillary Mutyambai to arrest the perpetrators,” MCK CEO David Omwoyo said in a statement.

Omwoyo said ODM party officials were allegedly gunning for the pair after they published controversial stories about the party in their respective newspapers on March 17, 2022.

“Profiling of journalists by leaders and supporters of political parties goes against Articles 34 and 35 of the Constitution on freedom of media and access to information,” Omwoyo added.  

The MCK boss likewise urged ODM leader Raila Odinga and other politicians in general to discourage such incidents within their political outfits, noting that such incidents make life difficult for journalists.

He similarly urged IEBC and the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties to take stern action against parties and aspirants that condone violence against the media.

“While the work of the media is subject to scrutiny and feedback, any complaints on the violation of the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya should be reported to the Media Complaints Commissions which is legally mandated to adjudicate on the same,” Omwayo added.  

In an earlier statement, ODM director of communications Philip Etale labelled the attack as unfortunate and regrettable while citing that the party was already investigating the incident and that stern action would be taken against the perpetrators once investigations are finalised.

"The media is our partner in the political journey that we are pursuing. It plays an important role in informing the public on the happenings in all sectors of the economy including politics. As a party, we shall do everything possible to ensure the safety of media personnel is guaranteed in all our events; both in the field and at the party headquarters," he said.