Kenyan reporter murdered as colleagues protest threats

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya

A Kenyan reporter was murdered on Thursday as hundreds of other journalists protested in the capital against alleged threats and intimidation -- particularly from the police.

Major roads in Nairobi experienced heavy traffic as journalists demanded the government do more to protect reporters against attacks.

Nationwide demonstrations took place as news broke that a journalist -- Dennis Otieno from Western Kenya -- had been killed at his home in Trans Nzoia county by a gang of unknown assailants.

Local police chief Wilfred Mogere said the journalist’s wife had confirmed that Otieno was killed over a photograph in his possession. Details of the photo are not yet known.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, freelance journalist David Owino said reporters in Kenya were not receiving adequate protection, forcing many to work in fear or simply abandon their profession.

“We have unions and councils to speak on our behalf but they are not doing anything,” he said.

“Our government is watching us get killed by the police while they do nothing. Just today one of us was killed; a few days ago Joseph Masha [another Kenyan journalist] was also killed.

“[Police] should do their work -- that is why we, as journalists, have gone independently on the Kenyan roads to protest,” Owino said.

On Saturday, Masha -- a Kenyan journalist based in Kilifi -- died in mysterious circumstances after being seen quarrelling with a politician.

Patience Nyangi from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights told Anadolu Agency on Thursday the organization had joined the media on the streets “to re-emphasize that the rights provided in the constitution and in the various international instruments ratified by the Kenyan government guarantee responsible and unrestricted press freedom”.