Former KTN journalist Anne Soy and her children are reported to be under arrest following a scuffle with police officers at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.
In a tweet posted on her Twitter page on Friday, October 11, the BBC Deputy Editor and Senior Africa Correspondent stated that she had gone to the venue to attend the ongoing Homes Expo alongside her kids, and when she tried to leave the venue, the police officers at the door stopped her and asked to check her bags.
She narrated that the police officers told her that they wanted to check her bags to see if she was under the possession of stolen laptops.
She stated that she did not take kindly to the accusations, a matter that led to a minor scuffle and police detaining her and her children at the KICC Police Station.
"I said I’d paid to get in and hadn’t stolen anything and it escalated quickly. Still trying to understand why I’m under arrest with my kids," she wrote.
Her arrest sparked reactions from netizens, with on twitter user stating that she had been through the same search on Thursday, with the police officer allegedly not disclosing what she was searching for.
Homes Expo, the organizers of the event were quick to reach out to her and offer their apologies for the incident.
"We apologize for the misunderstanding you and your children experienced in the search area. The exit search was strictly enforced following stolen items that had been reported by some exhibitors," they wrote on their Twitter page.
It remains unclear whether she has been released or not.
Anne Soy is not a stranger to the world of news and accolades.
Parents Magazine reported in 2016 that in 2010, CNN presented her with a commendation award after she was disqualified from the CNN Journalist of the Year Awards following the discovery that a story she had submitted for consideration was two seconds longer than what the competition required.
She has also had the opportunity to interview Nobel Laureate and girls’ rights activist Malala Yousafzai and numerous heads of state such as Malawi’s Peter Mutharika, Sierra Leone’s Ernest Bai Koroma, and Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
She has also had the chance to interview South Sudanese British supermodel and designer Alek Wek and actress Lupita Nyong’o.
