Mombasa, KENYA:The inspector general of Police Joseph Boinnet has ordered a probe into an incident where two Nation media group journalists were harassed while filming the ongoing construction of the Dolphin hotel in Shanzu said to be encroaching on a public beach on Thursday afternoon.
Speaking on Friday, Boinnet said police were probing who was on the wrong in the incident.
We want to know who was on the wrong— whether it was our officers, the journalists, the contractors or the askaris then further action can be taken. As of now, we do not know anything,” Boinnet told a local daily.
The journalists who were detained at Bamburi police station for several hours have said they were going about their business when the incident occurred.
“I was going to work on a tourism story when the incident happened. What transpired has never happened in my life for the 38 years I have been a journalist. My colleague and I were assaulted by 6 policemen trying to damage my camera like criminals,” Senior NTV videographer Karim Rajan told Baraka FM’s Mega breakfast on phone
Videographer Karim revealed through the phone conversation that the orders of their arrest were coming from a man of Indian origin.
“I call upon Interior CS Dr. Matiang’i to send his team to look into this Indian man papers to know whether he is in the country legally or illegally because we cannot be intimidated by Indians in our own country,” said Karim
The act has been condemned by Nation Media Group board chairman Wilfred Kiboro calling upon the public to condemn such acts
“The public should feel outraged on the level on impunity witnessed yesterday with attack and arrest of Nation Media Group journalists,” Dr Kiboro said during an investor briefing in Nairobi.
