Former NTV journalist Yassin Juma was arrested and detained in Ethiopia by the country’s military on Friday, July 3.
Juma was arrested while covering protests that erupted in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region, following the death of musician Hachalu Hundessa.
Hachalu, an activist for the Oromo ethnic group was shot dead while driving in Addis Ababa on Monday, June 29.
Over 80 people have been killed in protests staged over the killing of the musician.
Contrary reports indicate that Juma was arrested due to his dalliance with Ethiopian activist Jawar Mohammed.
Kenyan journalist Yassin Juma (left) with Oromo activist Jawar Mohamed (left)FILE
Jawar, an Oromo, is one of the fiercest critics of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. Juma was reportedly apprehended at the activist’s home.
Juma has developed an interest for covering the plight of the Oromo Liberation Front, a rebel group that has fought a low-level insurgency in southern Ethiopia for more than 30 years.
Juma was allegedly barred from travelling to Ethiopia in 2009 after a documentary he did covering the tensions between Kenya and Ethiopia rubbed Addis Ababa the wrong way.
The Ethiopian government, however, granted him clemency later on and for 10 years he lived and worked in Ethiopia. Activist Jawar Mohamed reportedly gave him an opportunity to propel his media house as an experienced independent journalist in Addis Ababa.
Juma was allegedly using the platform to make a comeback with his features and investigative stories in Ethiopia. Further reports allege that Juma had been integrated into the Oromo lifestyle.
In January 2016, Juma was arrested in Kenya by the Anti Terror Police Unit over recording contentious information regarding the attack on a Kenya Defence Forces camp in El-Adde, Somalia.
According to police, the former Journalist was arrested following his posts on social media regarding the attack which left scores of Kenyan soldiers dead.
“I was from the hospital when I was arrested by eight police officers in two cars…They took me to my house where they conducted a search before they escorted me to the police station,” he told the Nation at the police station.
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