KTN Journalist Yvonne Chepkwony has filed a report with the police over claims that she received threats from a senior county official.
The journalist explained that she feared for her life after Baringo Health County official Gideon Toromo kept issuing threats, warning her not to publish or report a court case she was following up.
Toromo was arrested last year over claims of threatening to kill his colleague Salome Chelimo, the County Director for Planning and Administration.
Chepkwony further claimed that Toromo called her several times and warned her not to publish the story, demanding to know her motive to publish the proceedings at Nakuru law courts.
"On Tuesday around 2.05 pm Toromo called and demanded to know why I was reporting on the case. He said I should instead focus on other important stories such as the killings in Kapedo," Chepkwony stated.
Sensing that the situation could get worse, Chepkwony went to Kabarnet police station and filed a report under OB number 12/107/02/2021.
"I have to do my job as a journalist. That is why I decided to report the threat to the police because I do not know what he plans to do. I thought I should take Toromo's threats seriously and that is why I reported him to the police," she said.
County Criminal Investigations Officer Joseph Mumira affirmed that the matter is already under investigation. He wondered why the county official narrowed his target on Chepkwony despite the court case being in the public domain.
Toromo was on the spot over death threats issued against his colleague n November 2020. The evidence presented in court showed that Toromo allegedly threatened Chelimo for interfering in his work in the county government. Chelimo stated that the official kept calling her using a different number while noting that he would end her life.
In his defence, Toromo disputed the allegations and denied the charges. The county official was released on bond of Ksh100,000 with a surety of similar amount or cash bail of Ksh30,000.
This is not the first time that the county official is on the spot over alleged violence. On October 8, 2013, Toromo was charged with shooting and killing a secondary school tutor with a poisoned arrow as reported by The Nation.
He was, however, set free after a letter from the then Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko, dated August 6, 2013, directing the court to call off proceedings.
