Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the global media rights watchdog headquartered in Paris on Thursday called on Kenyan police found culpable of excesses to be held accountable over the brutality meted on both local and international journalists covering demonstrations.
On Thursday, the media body issued a statement where it condemned the conduct of Kenyan police during the Nane Nane protests and the other demonstrations staged since June.
According to human rights organisations more than 60 people have died while protesting in various parts of the country. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) puts the number of people who have been injured at 361.
According to RSF, Kenyan police handling the Nane Nane protests on Thursday carried out their duties with total impunity including using rubber bullets and lobbying teargas at peaceful journalists and Kenyans without proper justification.
This the organisation said was a delibarate attempt " to silence and intimidate journalists covering the demonstrations.
"Kenyan police had clearly perpetrated violence against journalists to prevent them from working, and issued threats to keep their blunders under wraps," said Arnaud Froger, who heads RSF's investigation desk.
Froger further stated that the National Police Service (NPS) failure to identify the perpetrators even in cases where the violence was captured on camera was intentional and tantamount to "shameless impunity".
Targeted Attacks
For instance, CNN journalist Larry Madowo who was covering the protests exposed police officers for firing teargas cannisters directly at him, yet he was going about his duties, which is a guaranteed freedom under the Kenyan Constitution.
"Kenyan police targeted me directly today. I was hit by a fragment after officers aimed at me and my CNN team at least twice while covering protests in Nairobi," the journalist said in a post.
RSF also reported that two AFP journalists were among several media practitioners injured by tear gas cannisters aimed directly at them by the Kenyan Police.
The global body in its indictment of how the Kenyan police officers conducted themselves unequivocally stated that the victims were subjected to harassment with evidence showing that they were targeted.
The body stated that it had referred the matter to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) but the agency was yet to respond.
