The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) is investigating at least seven police officers following the alleged manhandling and arrest of Citizen TV journalist Odee Francis on Tuesday, October 20.
According to IPOA, it is seeking to interrogate at least seven police officers accused of harassing and manhandling the journalist during protests over increased fuel prices in Nairobi CBD.
Among those set for questioning are Central Police Station OCPD Patrick Gogo and its OCS Joab Onyapidi. The list further includes five officers accused of arresting the journalist.
According to authorities, the officers are supposed to explain why they arrested the Citizen TV crime journalist, despite identifying himself multiple times as a journalist.
IPOA chairperson Duncan Ojwang Oburu ahead of his swearing-in at the Supreme Court Buildings in Nairobi on September 10, 2026.
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IPOA
The move came after Odee was temporarily arrested and detained at the Central Police Station after officers reportedly confused him with other protesters.
In his own account, Odee was covering demonstrations against high fuel prices, organised by a section of human rights activists in the CBD, while the country was celebrating the 63rd Mashujaa Day.
He explained that he was filming the events from the journalists' side when the activists began to flee. Suddenly, an officer in a police uniform pointed at him and told his colleagues, ordering his arrest too.
Despite questioning the reasons for his arrest and identifying himself as a registered journalist with an official badge, the officers ignored his identity. They proceeded to arrest him, bundling him into a Land Cruiser before taking him together with other activists to the station.
The journalist claimed that he was dragged, beaten, and his clothes torn off by plainclothes officers before they forcibly threw him into a police Land Rover.
He was briefly detained at the Nairobi Central Police Station along with activists before being released after the OCPD intervened and admitted that he was caught up in the violence.
Following his arrest, the Crime Journalists Association of Kenya (CJAK) condemned Odee's arrest and assault, urging the police and IPOA to investigate the incident and hold any officers found responsible accountable.
The incident comes amid continued concerns over press freedom and the treatment of journalists covering demonstrations in Kenya.
MCK recorded 92 press freedom violations in 2025, down from 130 in 2024, with physical assaults accounting for 67 per cent of reported cases.
Odee Francis addresses the press at Central Police Station in Nairobi after his arrest on October 20, 2026.
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Kenyans.co.ke