A K24 journalist was seriously lynched and injured today in Port Victoria, Budalangi constituency, during a political rally of CORD bigwig and ODM supremo Raila Odinga in Busia County.
Moses Masinde,a MediaMax employee,was harassed and beated up by rowdy youths as he recorded anti-Raila demonstrations that rocked the place at that time.His camera was vandalised and his tape raptured to an extent that if the K24 purchasing department would fund its repair then try to play it, I think it would have sounded like the sound track to Niagara Falls.
At that time when hell broke loose,Raila was busy meeting ODM party delegates nearby.However,the police ran for Masinde's rescue from the hands of the barbaric goons.Surprisingly,the police rushed him to Port Victoria Police Station instead of the nearest hospital.Any sane mind would expect that the journalist be rushed to the nearest hospital but that never happened.Maybe because the police were not doctors to be mindful of his health in the first place or because they were focused on improving his security.
"If it were not for the police, I would be dead now. My body is in pain. The camera is totally damaged and they ran away with the tape. I also lost personal belongings," said Mr Masinde as he recorded a statement at the station.
Area police boss Lemmy Njiru cautioned residents against engaging in acts of violence as he gave an address over the incident.
"Officers were nearby and stopped the crowd from injuring Masinde further. We recovered his camera from the crowd and he was rushed to our station," said the OCPD.
Budalang'i MP Hon Ababu Namwamba also condemned the incident and termed it as unfortunate.
"Why stop a journalist when he is covering an event. This is barbaric and cowardly behaviour. They will need the same journalists to cover their demonstrations. Violence will not change people's mind on the ground," he said.
Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) voiced its concern over the escalating cases of violence against journalists ahead of the next General Election.KUJ Secretary General Eric Oduor said: "We condemn the attack on the K24 journalist at the Orange Democratic Movement rally in Budalang'i constituency.We call upon police to investigate the matter and bring the perpetrators to book within the shortest time possible. As a union, we will use our network to track down those who committed this offence and ensure they are held to account for their actions."
The attack was also condemned by Political Journalists Association of Kenya, which called on supporters of political parties to be tolerant.
Finally,journalists should not be barricaded from performing their professional duty by goons who know nothing but violence.Anarchy is certainly not democracy.
Charles Domnic
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