A senior Nation Media Group editor has for the first time spoken about allegations of sexual abuse brought against him by a journalism intern working under him. Mr Emeka Mayaka, the newspapers regional editor for Kisumu and Kisii regions, said on his Facebook page today that he had been framed up by the lady who is being used by ‘dark forces” that want him fired.
Mr Mayaka – who worked as a sub, reporter and eventually editor at the Nation Centre before being moved to Kisumu in 2013 – is now being investigated for sexual harassment by the company. The lady, whose identity we cannot reveal for now, accuses his boss of brandishing a pistol at her after she refused his sexual advances at the Nation Media bureau in Kisumu. The incident allegedly took place two weeks ago.
Mr Mayaka has been recalled to Nairobi to allow independent investigations at the bureau by the company’s security team. “It has been a difficult day for me,” he said, after The Nairobian weekly tabloid published these allegations. “I am most perturbed by claims that I threatened a colleague with a gun. The claims are shocking, malicious and totally false.”
The Nairobian gave what it believes from its source is an account of what happened that evening, even alleging that Mayaka is a licensed gun holder.
But he says he has never touched a gun – let alone own one. “The claims are being pushed by dark forces with the aim of having me removed from job. I am being framed up.”
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This case has blown the lid off the boiler that is sex in newsrooms. Many ladies have been emboldened by this case, though not strong enough to speak out publicly but just sufficiently to talk about their experiences with friends in social media groups. Perhaps, now media houses need to audit their staff and on how they run their desks.
Mr Mayaka, who is a PhD student and a part-time university lecturer, is a calm and collected guy who talks with a moderate tone as is if it’s not his duty to be audible but your work to listen keenly. While at the head office, he interviewed prominent politicians and personalities in the country, and wrote very captivating articles, cutting himself an image of a professional journalist on his way up.
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His colleagues must be struggling to reconcile that image with his current predicament. Yet still, it’s an image Mayaka himself will fight to protect. “Investigations are ongoing and I am sure I will be vindicated,” he said. “I am ready to face my accuser. The truth shall come out. My God reigns. He walks with me every step of the way. I shall overcome.”
[crp]
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