By Hassan Wekesa - Editor
Loading article content...
Loading article content...
Kenya, 2 November 2026 - The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) and other stakeholders on Monday joined global bodies in calling for the prosecution of those who attack journalists, as they defended the right to information.
The calls were made during commemorations of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. This year’s event in Kenya was held under the theme “Enhancing Journalists’ Safety and Protection Mechanisms Ahead of the 2027 General Election”.
The safety of journalists in Kenya has deteriorated in recent months. Citing the MCK’s report, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) raised alarm over attacks on media practitioners. The commission said Kenya recorded 92 verified press freedom violations in 2025, with physical assaults accounting for 67% of the cases.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said on Monday that those who speak truth to power should not have to fear for their safety. She added that attacks on journalists threaten everyone’s right to reliable information.
“Our democracies depend on journalists. The European Parliament stands with them: no journalist should be threatened and no crime against them should go unpunished,” she said.
Situation in Kenya
In October, Citizen TV journalist Francis Ode was arrested along Kimathi Street in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) while covering demonstrations by activists protesting fuel price increases announced by President William Ruto’s government.
Ode said he was recording events in the CBD when police officers moved in to arrest demonstrators, and that an officer in uniform allegedly directed colleagues to arrest him as well.
Recounting the ordeal, he said he feared for his life because he was the journalist who broke the news of Albert Ojwang’s death while in custody at Central Police Station.
“I wondered whether, if I died, the script would be the same as the one I had used to report on what befalls others in society,” he said.
More from Kenya
In September, Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich was abducted. He was found alive on 2 September 2026, nine hours after armed men seized him and his driver, Mr Kamau, along the Gilgil-Nakuru Road on the night of 1 September.
The Standard Group said Kiprotich was dumped about 10 metres from Masinga Dam, 137 kilometres from Nairobi, at around 2am. He sought refuge at a nearby home before a company team found him at about 6:30am. He is safe and well, though visibly shaken.
Kiprotich said four masked men with an AK-47 seized him in a Subaru, registration KDC 125E, which records show is a government vehicle fitted with a siren.
He believes his captors were police officers, noting that officers at roadblocks waved the car through. They questioned him on the group’s sources, how headlines are chosen, and whether shareholder Gideon Moi receives visitors at Kabarak. Some told him it was “government business”.
The company held the state responsible, calling the abduction a likely attempt at intimidation.
It noted a similar attempt on 27 June 2026, involving a vehicle traced to the police Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, with no one held to account. President Ruto has recently criticised the Standard’s coverage as biased.
The United Nations General Assembly established the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists in 2013, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) leads its observance. The date marks the 2013 killing of two French journalists in Mali.