Kenya

(NDIMA/IFEX) – Njehu Gatabaki, publisher of the Nairobi weekly magazine “Finance” who was abducted by security men on 4 December 1997, was on 5 December charged in a Nairobi court. Gatabaki, who is also the outgoing member of Parliament for Githunguri Constituency in Central Kenya, appeared before senior resident magistrate Lilian Bondi and denied three […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – Njehu Gatabaki, publisher of the Nairobi weekly magazine “Finance”, was assaulted and abducted on 5 December 1997. A former member of Parliament, Gatabaki was kidnapped at his parent’s home in the Githunguri Kiambu district of central Kenya by people believed to be security men. The men showed up in six vehicles that did […]

**Updates IFEX alert of 20 Nroup, on 26 November 1997, police officers from both the local Surabaya and East Java regional forces banned the play “Marsinah Menggugat” (Marsinah Accuses) by Ratna Sarumpaet and the Satu Merah Panggung Theatre only three hours before the performance was due to begin. The play, dealing with the unresolved murder […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – On 19 November 1997, the Kenyan government withdrew charges of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, and promoting warlike activities against writer, human rights campaigner and presidential candidate in Kenya’s forthcoming general election, Koigi wa Wamwere. The same charges were also withdrawn against wa Wamwere’s lawyer, Mirugi Kariuki, and Njenga Mungai, the immediate […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – The KES 10 million award (about US$ 185,000) given to presidential aide Joshua Kulei in a libel suit against the newspaper “The People” was set aside by the High Court sitting in Nairobi on 31 October 1997. Justice Emmanuel O’Kubasu, who gave the ruling, said the memorandum of appearance and the defence had […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – On 26 October 1997, angry Muslim students attacked two journalists outside Garissa Teachers’ College, accusing them of bias in their reporting. More than twenty students armed with sticks, stones and clubs got hold of “East African Standard” reporter Ambura Olira and David Ochami of the “Kenya Times” outside the college gates and forced […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – Joshua Kulei, a Nairobi businessman and aide to President Daniel arap Moi who has sued a Kenyan rural newspaper “The Times” for libel (See IFEX Alerts) published a notice on 26 October in the Sunday Nation warning two Nairobi newspapers that he might take legal action against them for causing to be published […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – On 21 October 1997, people believed to be security officers bought virtually all copies of the current issue of “Finance” magazine. The vendors said the buyers asked them to produce all the copies they had, paid for them in cash and loaded them into waiting vehicles. A spot check indicated that newspaper vendors […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – On 17 October 1997, a Nairobi court ordered that detained journalist Palazh Krishnanunni Raja, an Indian national, be produced in court on Thursday 23 October 1997. Senior resident Magistrate Sammy Muiruri ordered prison authorities to ensure that Krishnannuni be brought before him on that day. The order was made after an application by […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – Freelance journalist Palazh Krishnanunni Raja (previously reported as Raja Krishna) was, on 3 October 1997, charged in a Nairobi court in connection with a story which appeared in the newspapers “The Times” and “Rift Valley Times” about Presidential aide Joshua Kulei. Raja, an Indian national and author of the article, faces two counts […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – On 3 October 1997, a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer briefly arrested the editor of a rural newspaper, “Maarifa”. This monthly publication, produced by Information Ministry personnel, circulates in Central Province of Kenya. “Maarifa” published a photograph of the bullet-riddled body of top criminal Bernard Matheri alias ‘Rasta’in the latest issue of the […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – A Nakuru publisher and a director of a printing firm which prints “The Times” and “Rift Valley Times” newspapers appeared in a Nakuru court on 2 October 1997 after being charged with publishing a defamatory article. Joe Kariuki, publisher of “The Times” and “The Rift Valley”, and Techno Press director Joseph Agola denied […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – Two Kenya Television Network (KTN) editors suspended in July 1996 have been reinstated. Vitalis Musebe, the head of news at KTN, and his deputy, Isaiya Kabira, officially resumed work on the morning of 1 October 1997 after an absence of nearly three months. Musebe said they had been reinstated unconditionally. **Updates IFEX alert […]

Charles Kuria wa Wamwere, the brother of detained writer, human rights activist and former Member of Parliament Koigi wa Wamwere, has been admitted to the Nairobi Hospital after falling ill at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, their mother said on 26 October 1996. Their mother, Monica Wangu Wamwere, also said that Koigi wa Wamwere’s health […]

On 11 October 1996, Chelimo Cheboi, Embu District Commissioner in the Eastern Province of Kenya, ordered an immediate stop to all non-governmental organization (NGO) and church-organised seminars in the district because “they were political.” Cheboi was addressing a crowd gathered at Moi Stadium in Embu town, where he is reported to have said that the […]

The “Sunday Nation”, Kenya’s leading English-language newspaper, reported on 13 October 1996 that jailed ex-army Captain G.G Njuguna Ngengi had been admitted to Nairobi Hospital suffering from heart-related ailments. His lawyer, Paul Muite, said Ngengi – – who is serving a four-year jail term along with writer Koigi wa Wamwere and Charles Kuria wa Wamwere […]