Kenya / Africa

  
Residents pass a burning barricade in Kibera, Nairobi, on October 25, the day before presidential re-elections are held. Journalists covering the vote should take safety precautions. (AFP/Marco Longari)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Kenya’s repeat election and unrest

The risk of unrest and violent protests in Kenya has increased after the country’s electoral commission announced that repeat elections will be held on October 26. The order came after Kenya’s Supreme Court annulled the result of an election in August that kept President Uhuru Kenyatta in power.

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Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga run away from police during clashes in Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, August 12, 2017. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Kenyan journalists harassed, detained reporting on election violence

Nairobi, August 17, 2017–Authorities in Kenya should credibly investigate incidents of harassment against journalists covering the aftermath of August 8’s disputed elections and should reform Kenya’s Firearms Act to lower the barriers on journalists’ ability to wear protective gear, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Campaign posters for local candidates are attached to pole in Nakuru. Several journalists say they have been threatened or attacked while covering the run up to Kenya's August 8 elections. (Reuters/Baz Ratner)

Amid tensions ahead of Kenyan vote, journalists face violence and threats

When a fight broke out during a political rally for Kenya’s Orange Democratic Movement in Kakamega county on May 4, Shaban Makokha was taking pictures for his newspaper, the Daily Nation. Makokha told CPJ that when police arrived to break up the fight, they demanded that he stop taking pictures, even after he identified himself…

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A vendor sells badges of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, left, and his deputy William Ruto in May. Kenya is seeking to restrict commentary on social media ahead of the August elections. (AFP/Simon Maina)

Kenya seeks to restrict political commentary on social media ahead of elections

Nairobi, July 5, 2017– Kenyan authorities should ensure that proposed social media guidelines do not prevent journalists from reporting critically or close the space for public debate ahead of general elections due to take place August 8, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A Kenyan voter in Nairobi carries a copy of the Daily Nation newspaper as he waits to vote in the March 4, 2013, elections. The headline, "Never Again," refers to the post-election violence of 2007. (AP/Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin)

Kenyan reporter detained for two days on bribery allegation

Police in Nairobi on June 18 arrested Sunday Nation journalist Walter Menya on charges of soliciting a bribe of 55,000 Kenyan shillings (U.S.$531) to “write a damaging story in The Nation newspaper,” according to a police statement. The amount he was alleged to have accepted was later changed to 50,000 Kenyan shillings (U.S.$482), according to…

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A young Kenyan listens to the news on the radio in this March 2013 file photo (Reuters/Joseph Okanga)

Kenyan journalist threatened and assaulted

New York, June 8, 2017–Kenyan authorities should credibly investigate and swiftly bring to justice those responsible for attacking and threatening Emmanuel Namisi, a broadcast journalist for the Royal Media group, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Fiscal Blackmail

The Kenyan government withdraws advertising when newspapers step out of line By Alan Rusbridger In some parts of the world, it is still possible to silence a journalist with a sharp blow to the side of the head. But as newspapers the world over struggle with the financial disruption of digital technologies, governments are finding…

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Journalist beaten by Kenyan police, told he ‘cannot fight them with a pen’

Kenyan police on March 22 threatened and assaulted Isaiah Gwengi, a correspondent for The Standard daily newspaper, according to the journalist and media reports.

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Lawyers confer on the floor of Kenya's High Court in Nairobi, next to a copy of the country's constitution, March 8, 2013. (Reuters/Steve Crisp)

Kenyan court finds criminal libel laws unconstitutional

New York, February 6, 2017–Today’s ruling by Kenya’s High Court that the country’s criminal defamation law is unconstitutional is a welcome step toward safeguarding press freedom and free speech, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Kenya detains British newspaper correspondent Jerome Starkey

Nairobi, December 9, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kenyan authorities to release Jerome Starkey, the Africa correspondent for The Times of London, who was detained shortly after arriving in Nairobi last night.

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