Kenya Editors Guild ( KEG) President Zubeida Kananu on Wednesday issued a 7-day strike notice, warning that media practitioners will resort to the streets if action will not be taken against attacks on Kenyan journalists witnessed during the recent anti-government protests.
Addressing the media on Wednesday after the release of veteran Nation Media Group Editor Macharia Gaitho, Kananu criticised the government for turning a blind eye on the safety and security of media practitioners in Kenya.
"We are giving a 7-day notice for the perpetrators to be brought to books, it seems like, that is the language the government best understands."
She insisted that the recent instances of excessive use of force by police officers on Kenyans are uncalled for and contravene the Constitution of Kenya and particularly, the Bill of Rights.
Kananu further revealed that the majority of the journalists have been receiving threats and intimidation to censor them from covering certain events of public interest objectively.
"Media has the right to cover any event for the interest of the public provided that this is done within the jurisdiction of the law. We will not be cowed or threatened anymore because that is our right as media practitioners."
She slammed the claim by the National Police Service (NPS) that Gaitho's abduction was an arrest and a case of mistaken identity.
A few moments earlier, NPS had issued a statement where the law enforcement agency expressed its remorse over the development.
Gaitho had been abducted in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, at the Karen Police Station after being trailed from his home in Nairobi.
A video that went viral on social media showed Gaitho being bundled into a private car by uniformed police officers, and others dressed in civilian clothing.
While giving clarity on the incident, his son, detailed that his father drove into the police station to take cover after noticing that he was being trailed.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) had on Friday reported receiving ten complaints of unlawful arrests, abductions, and disappearances, all in various stages of analysis and investigation.
