Kenya: Threats to Media Ahead of August Polls
Tuesday May 30, 2017
A Kenyan journalist participates in a protest in the capital, Nairobi, against draconian new laws restricting media freedom that were presented in parliament, December 3, 2013. © 2013 REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
Authorities in Kenya
have committed a range of abuses against journalists reporting on sensitive
issues, threatening freedom of expression ahead of elections slated for August
8, 2017, Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa said in a report
released today.
Journalists and bloggers reporting on
corruption, disputed land acquisition, counterterrorism operations, and the
2007-2008 post-electoral violence, among other sensitive issues, have faced
intimidation, beatings, and job loss.
The 53-page report, “‘Not Worth The Risk’: Threats To Free Expression Ahead of Kenya’s 2017 Elections,” documents abuses by government officials, police, county governors, and other government officials against the media. Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 examined government attempts to obstruct critical journalists and bloggers with legal, administrative, and informal measures, including threats, intimidation, harassment, online and phone surveillance, and in some cases, physical assaults.
The 53-page report, “‘Not Worth The Risk’: Threats To Free Expression Ahead of Kenya’s 2017 Elections,” documents abuses by government officials, police, county governors, and other government officials against the media. Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 examined government attempts to obstruct critical journalists and bloggers with legal, administrative, and informal measures, including threats, intimidation, harassment, online and phone surveillance, and in some cases, physical assaults.
“We must stem the tide of increased violence and
impunity against journalists in Kenya,” said Henry Maina, regional director at
ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa. “No policy to address the situation can be
successful if measures to prevent aggression against and to protect at-risk
journalists are not accompanied with thorough and timely prosecutions of all
crimes committed against them.”
Despite receiving formal complaints from
journalists, police have rarely investigated the attacks or threats. Since
President Uhuru Kenyatta took office in 2013, there is no evidence that any
security officer or public official has been held accountable for threatening,
intimidating, or physically attacking a member of the media in Kenya.
Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 interviewed 92
journalists, human rights activists, bloggers, and government officials
throughout Kenya and documented 17 incidents in which 23 journalists and
bloggers were physically assaulted between 2013 and 2017 by government
officials or individuals believed to be aligned with government officials.
At least two died under circumstances that may have been related to their work. The groups also documented 16 incidents of direct death threats against journalists and bloggers across the country in recent years, and cases in which police arbitrarily arrested, detained, and later released without charge at least 14 journalists and bloggers.
For example, on September 7, 2016, unidentified assailants forced themselves into the house of a photojournalist, Denis Otieno, in the town of Kitale, Rift Valley, and demanded photos on his camera, then shot him dead. Otieno had photographed police officers shooting to death a motorcycle taxi rider at a Kitale bus station a few days earlier. A family member said that before his murder, Otieno had expressed alarm about death threats. No one has been arrested in relation to his killing.
At least two died under circumstances that may have been related to their work. The groups also documented 16 incidents of direct death threats against journalists and bloggers across the country in recent years, and cases in which police arbitrarily arrested, detained, and later released without charge at least 14 journalists and bloggers.
For example, on September 7, 2016, unidentified assailants forced themselves into the house of a photojournalist, Denis Otieno, in the town of Kitale, Rift Valley, and demanded photos on his camera, then shot him dead. Otieno had photographed police officers shooting to death a motorcycle taxi rider at a Kitale bus station a few days earlier. A family member said that before his murder, Otieno had expressed alarm about death threats. No one has been arrested in relation to his killing.
One Nairobi-based editor told the two groups:
“Whenever we write articles critical of security agencies or exposing
corruption in the government, our reporters receive death threats from security
and other government officials.
This is usually followed
up with withdrawal of government advertising or withholding of revenue from
advertising. We now have to assess carefully whether such stories are worth the
cost.”
With the general election set for August, state
security agencies have heightened threats and appear to be using ambiguous
legal provisions to carry out increased surveillance, without warrants, on
journalists reporting on sensitive issues. As one reporter said, “If you have
written about security agencies or corruption-related stories, you have to know
that you are being followed or your phone is being listened into.”
“For Kenya’s August elections to be credible and fair, the media needs to be able to report on pressing issues of national interest without fear of reprisals,” said Otsieno Namwaya, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “President Kenyatta should publicly underscore the importance of free expression and condemn threats and attacks on journalists and bloggers.
“For Kenya’s August elections to be credible and fair, the media needs to be able to report on pressing issues of national interest without fear of reprisals,” said Otsieno Namwaya, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “President Kenyatta should publicly underscore the importance of free expression and condemn threats and attacks on journalists and bloggers.
While Kenyan journalists have borne the brunt of
government abuse, the foreign media have also faced reprisals for critical
reporting. In 2015, Kenyan authorities threatened to ban two foreign
journalists for an international media outlet for reporting on alleged police
death squads implicated in extrajudicial killings.
Despite receiving formal complaints from
journalists, police have very rarely investigated attacks or threats to the
media, Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 found. In 2015, an unidentified
assailant believed to be a government security officer physically assaulted a
human rights and anti-corruption blogger, Florence Wanjeri Nderu, and warned
her against continuing with her blog posts on corruption. Despite her detailed
report to the police about the attack and the suspect, police have failed to
investigate her case.
“Police never bothered to visit the scene of my
attack or even followed up with me to see how I was doing,” she said. “The
matter ended with the report I made.”
Timely and thorough investigations and prosecutions for these attacks and threats is crucial in ensuring that the media and bloggers report freely on issues ahead of the 2017 elections, Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 said.
Timely and thorough investigations and prosecutions for these attacks and threats is crucial in ensuring that the media and bloggers report freely on issues ahead of the 2017 elections, Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 said.
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