V¡olence against reporters and press photographers across Wajir County is worsening, with the last few months in particular leaving them fearing for their safety, the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has warned.
MCK, through its Chief Executive Officer David Omwoyo, called for those intimidating news gatherers to be prosecuted after several photographers and reporters were abusèd, attàcked and had their equipment destroyed or stolen during an inc¡dent at the Wajir County Assembly on July 30 when the legislators gathered to discuss, debate, and vote on proposed laws in the County Finance Bill 2024.
“The Council is greatly concerned about these allegat¡ons, which border on violations of the Kenyan Constitution under Articles 3 and 35 on freedom of expression, access to information, and freedom of the media under Article 34,” Mr Omwoyo wrote in part in a letter addressed to Abdisalan Mohamed Mohamud, the Speaker of the County Assembly of Wajir.
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In the letter, MCK cited and condemned two other attácks that occurred in March, one during the handover of choléra kits to the Wajir County government by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and another at Jogbaru Primary School during the launch of the Early Childhood Development Educat¡on (ECDE) policy where journalist Mohamed Abdullahi was harassed and blocked from covering the event.
Mr Omwoyo said attácks on the free press undermine the credibility of journalists and journalism as a national institution supporting human rights and democratic societies.
While urging the local authorities and the public to respect press freedom and protect reporters, the MCK CEO regretted that increasing levels of V¡olence against journalists in Wajir and countrywide interfered with their work at a time when untrue information is rife and their work all the more crucial.
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