The media council of Kenya has condemned recent attacks meted against journalists during the Gen Z-led protests across the country.
MCK CEO David Omwoyo said that 24 cases of police brutality against journalists in the line of duty have so far been recorded as relevant authorities gathered more evidence to enable the prosecution of identified police officers.
Omwoyo called on the IPOA, Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), and the Inspector General of Police to expedite the investigations in the recent cases to ensure identified perpetrators of attacks against journalists are brought to book.
Speaking in Naivasha during a media stakeholder’s roundtable, the CEO said there was a need to strengthen government-media relations, enhance the safety of journalists, and serve justice to attacked journalists recorded recently.
On his part, Paul Ilado from the Editors Guild called on the actors in the justice system to speed up investigations to enable prosecutions of identified perpetrators of violence against journalists.
Ilado noted that the recent anti-government demonstrations brought forth clear violations of press freedom where media personnel were physically attacked in the full glare of cameras by police officers.
“We want to see clear actions and evidence of commitment by relevant government agencies to act on identified cases in order to serve justice to our colleagues who were attacked in the line of duty”, said Ilado.
In addition, he decried financial constraints facing media houses that have led to closures, delayed salaries of journalists, and layoffs.
He said there was a need to find sustainable solutions to the financial challenges facing media companies to ensure media survived and journalism played its key mandate of holding the government into account.
Ilado Called on the government to support local media houses from the skewed competition posed by Big Tech companies that continued to deny them advertisement billions.
According to the chair of Complainants Commission Dismus Kiprono, journalists performing their duty must be recognized and protected from harm and attacks adding that the abuse meted against them must be investigated and perpetrators brought to book.
Kiprono said Media freedom was established and guaranteed by Article 34 of the constitution which was the cornerstone of democracy that the country must abide by.
He said that with the recent reconstitution of the commission board, eight complainants have been received touching on violations of media freedom and would deploy mediation to resolve all the issues tabled.
