A Citizen TV journalist was on the receiving end during a wedding event in Kiambu after chaos erupted shortly after the event's groom's ex-wife showed up
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Charles Gikunga, the station's Kiambu correspondent, revealed that during the chaos, his camera valued at Ksh400,000 was destroyed and another journalist sustained injuries on his hands.
He further divulged that they had sent in one of their colleague in anticipations to cover the chaos at the wedding and shortly after the ex-wife arrived, their inner source started recording the proceedings. That was when the security guards hired by the event's bride started roughing the two up.
Gikunga then moved in to help his colleague who was attached to Mount Kenya TV and that was when he was also attacked and his camera destroyed.
"We had been covering such events... Ule wa Mount Kenya ndio tulituma ndani na simu...Ndio akatutip off akatuambia the first wife ameingia. Wakati alitoa simu akaanza kurecord ndio men in black wakaanza kumpiga. Wakati nilikuja kumsave, wakanisukuma na camera. Ex-wife aliinuliwa juu juu tukatolewa wote nje na gate ikafungwa," narrated the journalist.
(The Mount Kenya TV journalist is the one we sent inside the church, he then tipped us off and told us the first wife had arrived. When he started recording on his phone, the security attacked him. When I came to save him they shoved me aside with my camera. The ex-wife, together with us, was kicked out of the venue and then the gate was closed.)
Other journalists who were also trying to capture the unfolding drama sustained minor injuries and were barred from accessing the church premises.
In the days leading to the event, tensions were high that the event would not exactly run smoothly as the groom was reportedly married to another woman.
Reports indicated that the groom had not separated from his wife and that their divorce case was still in court pending and so the man was not legally allowed to marry another person.
In anticipation of the chaos, the bride then hired security guards to protect the wedding venue after she learned that her lover’s wife was planning to storm the event.
This was, however, not the first time journalists from the national broadcaster were attacked while doing their jobs.
Kimani Mbugua, the station's traffic updates reporter was in November 2018 assaulted by City askaris while he was at work.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke at the time, Kimani stated that he was attacked while recording the officers who were in the process of arresting a Boda Boda operator who had accessed the Central Business District (CBD) illegally.
