- Police arrested Citizen TV journalist Francis Ode while he was on assignment covering fuel cost protests in Nairobi's CBD on Tuesday
- Plainclothes officers dragged Ode along Kimathi Street near Kenyatta Avenue and bundled him into a waiting police Land Cruiser
- Fellow journalists and members of the public pleaded with officers to release Ode, noting he was working as a journalist, but were ignored
Nairobi police arrested Citizen TV journalist Ode Francis on Tuesday afternoon while he was covering demonstrations against rising fuel prices in the city centre.
Source: Facebook
Ode had been deployed to the Nairobi central business district to report on protests at Kimathi Street when plainclothes officers detained him alongside activists who had gathered to demonstrate against fuel price hikes. Footage and eyewitness accounts showed officers physically dragging the journalist along Kimathi Street near its junction with Kenyatta Avenue, a short distance from the Sarova Stanley Hotel, before forcing him into a police Land Cruiser.
Journalist Pleads With Officers During Arrest
Both members of the public and colleagues from the media who were present at the scene appealed to the officers to release Ode, repeatedly identifying him as a journalist on duty. Ode himself was seen addressing the officers and requesting to be allowed to continue his work, but the appeals did not appear to alter the officers' course of action.
Pattern of Press Arrests During Protests
The incident adds to a documented trend of journalists facing detention while covering demonstrations in Kenya. The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has recorded at least 25 cases involving attacks, harassment, and arrests of both local and foreign journalists during mass protests. A CIVICUS report also ranked Kenya among the leading offenders in sub-Saharan Africa for the crackdown and detention of journalists reporting on protests and politically sensitive events.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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