Amid tensions ahead of Kenyan vote, journalists face violence and threats
When a fight broke out during a political rally for Kenya’s Orange Democratic Movement in Kakamega county on May 4, Shaban Makokha was taking pictures for his newspaper, the Daily Nation. Makokha told CPJ that when police arrived to break up the fight, they demanded that he stop taking pictures, even after he identified himself…
Kenya seeks to restrict political commentary on social media ahead of elections
Nairobi, July 5, 2017– Kenyan authorities should ensure that proposed social media guidelines do not prevent journalists from reporting critically or close the space for public debate ahead of general elections due to take place August 8, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Kenyan reporter detained for two days on bribery allegation
Police in Nairobi on June 18 arrested Sunday Nation journalist Walter Menya on charges of soliciting a bribe of 55,000 Kenyan shillings (U.S.$531) to “write a damaging story in The Nation newspaper,” according to a police statement. The amount he was alleged to have accepted was later changed to 50,000 Kenyan shillings (U.S.$482), according to…
Kenyan journalist threatened and assaulted
New York, June 8, 2017–Kenyan authorities should credibly investigate and swiftly bring to justice those responsible for attacking and threatening Emmanuel Namisi, a broadcast journalist for the Royal Media group, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Fiscal Blackmail
The Kenyan government withdraws advertising when newspapers step out of line By Alan Rusbridger In some parts of the world, it is still possible to silence a journalist with a sharp blow to the side of the head. But as newspapers the world over struggle with the financial disruption of digital technologies, governments are finding…
Kenyan court finds criminal libel laws unconstitutional
New York, February 6, 2017–Today’s ruling by Kenya’s High Court that the country’s criminal defamation law is unconstitutional is a welcome step toward safeguarding press freedom and free speech, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
LGBT Reporting in Africa
On a recent trip to Kenya, I sat with S., a gay refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the cramped, one-room apartment he shares with three friends, all straight. The four share a bed, and none know S. is gay. The floor is covered in a vibrant yellow vinyl, their belongings clutter every…
Kenyan journalist held overnight at police station
David Odongo, a journalist with the privately owned weekly Nairobian newspaper was summoned to Nairobi’s Embakasi police station for questioning the evening of April 15, 2016, according to the Kenya Union of Journalists and news reports. Not long after he arrived, the union and news reports said, police arrested him and held him overnight.