Police Launch Investigations on Kisumu Governor’s Aide for Threatening Journalist

The Director of Protocol for Kisumu County Government, Bob Madanji, has been accused of threatening a journalist with uncultured violence and is now being investigated by the police.

Responding to the matter, Kisumu Central Police Station summoned governor Anyang' Nyong'o's aide to record a statement in response to the accusations by Fredrick Odhiambo.

A filed report at the station indicates that Madanji allegedly mishandled the journalist who is a correspondent of The Sun Weekly based in the lakeside city.

He also went ahead to banish him from the county intimidating him with dire consequences if he saw him in Kisumu again.

Odhiambo reported that the accused “threatened to slap me and warned that he does not want to see me in Kisumu".

The county police commander, Benson Mwau, indicated that they launched investigations into the matter as soon as it was reported.

The report also indicates that the county official issued the threats to Fredrick at the beginning of the month of March over a story he had published.

However, the accused, Madanji, accused the journalist of tarnishing his name in the media.

Madanji confronted the journalist outside the premises of the White Rose laundries at Tivoli Centre in the town.

Odhiambo was in the company of another journalist, James Keyi of Reuters when the ordeal happened.

The secretary-general of the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), Eric Oduor, is on record lamenting over a rapid increase of cases of journalists being threatened and targeted by county officials.

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