(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Police Commissioner Philemon Arodi Abongo, RSF protested the assault on Chris Omollo, a photographer with the privately owned “Daily Nation”. RSF asked the commissioner to publicly condemn this attack and to take sanctions against those responsible. “It is not the first time that journalists are assaulted or arrested by […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Police Commissioner Philemon Arodi Abongo, RSF protested the assault on Chris Omollo, a photographer with the privately owned “Daily Nation”. RSF asked the commissioner to publicly condemn this attack and to take sanctions against those responsible. “It is not the first time that journalists are assaulted or arrested by the police in Kenya, which is supposed to protect media professionals,” noted RSF secretary-general Robert Ménard. “Kenya ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression,” added Ménard.
According to information gathered by RSF, Omollo was beaten up and injured by policemen on the night of 23 May 2001. The journalist was attacked by police after taking pictures of a police raid of a bar. They began beating him with their guns. Despite orders from the police squad chief to stop, about twenty policemen continued to insult and beat him. The journalist’s shoulder was dislocated during the assault. His camera was damaged and money was taken from his wallet. His driver, George Munywoki, was also assaulted by the police. The journalist reported the incident to the Langata police station in Nairobi.
RSF recalled that in February four journalists were assaulted by policemen during an opposition meeting in the region of Nyanza (western Kenya).
