- Kaikai shared a video showing officers confronting and manhandling protesters, accusing them of using excessive force against unarmed picketers, including the journalist.
- Kaikai described the incident as “lawless, unwarranted and primitive,” calling on the National Police Service (NPS) and the Ministry of Interior to stop what he termed unlawful operations by unidentified officers.
Royal Media Services (RMS) Editorial Director Linus Kaikai has
condemned the arrest and assault of Citizen TV reporter Francis Ode by
plainclothes police officers while covering protests against rising fuel prices
in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) on Tuesday.
In a post on X, Kaikai shared a video showing officers
confronting and manhandling protesters, accusing them of using excessive force
against unarmed picketers, including the journalist.
Kaikai described the incident as “lawless, unwarranted and
primitive,” calling on the National Police Service (NPS) and the Ministry of
Interior to stop what he termed unlawful operations by unidentified officers.
“This was the moment overzealous policemen without uniforms
pounced on a handful of unarmed picketers, mindlessly grabbing anyone in sight,
including our reporter Ode Francis,” Kaikai stated.
“The manhandling of Ode and the activists was lawless,
unwarranted and primitive.”
Kaikai warned that such operations by plainclothes officers
violated the law and the Constitution, arguing that journalists and members of
the public should not be subjected to arbitrary arrests or violence while
exercising their rights.
“Besides innocent persons like our reporter Ode falling
victim, such barbaric swoops by rogue, unidentified, so-called ‘plainclothes
police’ on protesters or picketers violate the law and the Constitution,” he
said.
Ode was arrested on Kimathi Street in Nairobi while covering
demonstrations against rising fuel prices.
He was reportedly roughed up by plainclothes officers who repeatedly
ignored his press identification before detaining him at the Nairobi Central
Police Station.
The journalist was later released following public pressure
and condemnation from media organisations.
The Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) has since also condemned Ode's arrest and assault, demanding an official apology from Inspector General
of Police Douglas Kanja and assurances that journalists would be protected
while on assignment.
KEG President Zubeidah Kananu, in a statement also issued on
Tuesday evening, said Ode had been covering a public press conference and
peaceful demonstrations when officers intercepted him despite his
identification as an accredited journalist.
“KEG is deeply appalled by the reported arrest and assault of
Citizen TV journalist Francis Ode by police officers while he was in the line
of duty,” Kananu said.
The Guild welcomed Ode's release but maintained that it did
not resolve concerns surrounding the circumstances of his arrest and alleged
mistreatment.
“While we acknowledge that Ode has since been released
following immediate pressure and public outcry, the Guild maintains that his
arrest should never have occurred in the first place,” she stated.
KEG further warned against what it described as a continuing
trend of law enforcement officers targeting journalists covering matters of
public interest.
The Guild called for an end to the profiling of accredited
journalists, arguing that such incidents undermine media freedom and the
public's right to information.
The Crime Journalists Association of Kenya (CJAK) also condemned the arrest and assault, calling for an independent
investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
CJAK Chairperson Joseph Muraya said Ode's release from custody
was welcome but should not replace accountability for any wrongdoing.
The association urged the National Police Service (NPS) and the
Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to establish what happened
during the journalist's arrest and detention and ensure that officers found to
have violated the law were held accountable.