Kenya
Kenyan private press raided by police

afrol News, 26 April - During the last week, the private press in Kenya has been raided by police, a radio and a television has been closed and two journalists have been arrested. The harsh police behaviour, in a country that usually enjoys a relative freedom of media, has caused international protest.

According to information gathered by the media watchdog Reporters sans frontières (RSF - Reporters Without Borders), on 25 April 2001, policemen shut down the private Citizen FM and Citizen TV. Both media are property of Samuel Kamau Macharia, who was arrested by the police on the same day and released a few hours later on bail of 500,000 shillings (7,200 euros). 

Journalists who covered the arrest were locked in a room of Citizen press group for a while. Policemen were accompanied by officers from the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK). This Commission says that the two media did not respect the Communications Act of 1998. Mr. Macharia was charged with the setting up of a radio station without a licence and obstructing the police when they searched his premises. 

Citizen FM was already closed in 2000 for the same reasons but a high court decision allowed the station to continue broadcasting while the appeal was pending. The CCK was forbidden from interfering with the radio station during the procedure.

Otherwise, a journalist was arrested on 21 April 2001 by the police in Garissa (east of the country). Milton Omondi, correspondent for the Kenya News Agency (KNA) went to a police station to report death threats he received after exposing corruption matters among police officers. There the journalist was accused of "creating a disturbance" and put in jail. He was reportedly released the same day and arrested again three days later.

In a letter addressed to the minister of Home affairs, Noah Katana Ngala, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) protested against the crackdown on the private press by the Kenyan police.

RSF asked the minister to do everything in his power to ensure that journalists can work freely and safely in the whole country. "In less than a week, the police closed a television channel and a radio station and arrested two journalists. The government must condemn these violations of press freedom in Kenya", explained Robert Ménard, secretary general of the organisation. 

- Moreover, the closure of the two media is contrary to a high court decision taken last year, added Mr. Ménard. Finally, RSF asked for the release of a journalist detained in the east of the country.

Source: RSF

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