K24 Cameraman Roughed Up At Raila Odinga’s Rally In Busia

A K24 cameraman was yesterday roughed up by youths at Port Victoria in Busia County.

Raila Odinga is on a charm offensive mission in Western Kenya where dissenting voices from rebel MPs threatened to erode his popularity in the region.

Raila yesterday visited Ababu Namwamba’s home turf of Budalang’I where he made several stopovers to meet and greet his supporters.

K24 cameraman Moses Masinde who was sent to cover Raila’s visit was beaten by rowdy youth at one of the stopovers the Cord leader visited. Moses’ camera was damaged and he was also robbed of money he had with him.

ODM director of communication Philip Etale issued an apology following the incident;

“On behalf of the ODM party and the party leader, I apologise for the incident. Freedom of the press is what every journalist is expected to enjoy unconditionally and we shall do everything to ensure that media personnel covering our events are protected from such incidences. For action to be taken, I request any journalist with a photo or video showing the faces of the said ‘security’ men to produce it for easy identification” Philip Etale said in a statement.

Meanwhile the Political Journalists Association of Kenya (PJAK), the umbrella body of political reporters in Kenya, also condemned the attack on Moses.

“This action is barbaric, uncouth and uncalled for. we urge politicians to be careful not to set their supporters against journalists especially now that the country is gearing up for election campaigns. We call upon the police to investigate this matter and bring the culprits to account so as to discourage such acts in the future,” PJAK said in a statement.

Credit: Nairobi News