A TV47 presenter made a plea to Azimio party leader Raila Odinga after the station's crew was attacked while covering a rally at the Jacaranda grounds in Nairobi.
In a post shared on her social media account, presenter Lizah Mutuku claimed that goons attending the rally vandalised their vehicle after they attacked the crew.
Mutuku called on the Azimio leadership to ensure that the security of journalists covering their rallies is guaranteed.
"As much as Azimio wants to hold their rallies and meetings they also must protect people’s properties from goons. TV47 vehicle window glasses [were] shattered and my colleagues almost lost equipment to goons," she cried out.
A video seen by Kenyans.co.ke reveals that the rear window of the Land Cruiser was completely shattered. Luckily, the crew did not sustain any injuries.
Her post elicited mixed reactions from netizens, including avid Azimio supporters who opined that not all attacks were linked to Raila Odinga or his party.
"Those are not Azimio goons but thugs hiding in a peaceful rally to loot and vandalise. Azimio doesn't have goons, but peaceful supporters," one tweep wrote.
On the flip side, a section of Kenyans noted that there was a need to have police presence during the rallies to quell such attacks.
Before the rally, area Member of Parliament (MP) Babu Owino assured locals that the rally would be peaceful and warned any individual against engaging in crime.
The incident fell barely days after renowned KBC reporter, Alvin Kaunda, battled with a pickpocket while interviewing attendees during a rally at the Kamukunji grounds.
Kaunda initially tried to move away from the man who stood behind him but was forced to publicly call him out in the middle of the interview to stop him in his tracks.
In November 2022, an NTV journalist covering an event attended by Pastor Dorcas Rigathi on phone was marauded by her security team, causing an uproar over the spate of attacks on journalists.
Media Council of Kenya (MCK) Chief Executive Officer David Omwoyo condemned the attacks on journalists, especially during political rallies.
{"preview_thumbnail":"/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/p5WzkqTH6vE.jpg?itok=Km-22CCQ","video_url":"","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}
