The leadership of the forum bringing together journalists in Nairobi-based Catholic media outlets has expressed support for Kenya’s journalists, who have taken to the streets to decry escalating attacks on reporters covering recent anti-government demonstrations.
In an interview with ACI Africa, the chairperson of the Catholic media houses in Nairobi Archdiocese, Virginia Kabugu, weighed in on the journalists’ grievances expressed during the July 24 nationwide protests denouncing police brutality against media personnel in Kenyan streets during recent demonstrations.
“As Catholic media houses operating in Kenya, we call on the government to uphold this right, ensure the protection of all journalists, and stop the ongoing attacks on them,” Mrs. Kabugu said during the July 27 interview.
The right to information is enshrined in the Kenyan Constitution 2010 and journalists should be respected while carrying out the mandate, the Assistant Editor at Bayard Publications, one of the 15 Catholic media entities operational in Nairobi Archdiocese, emphasized.
A series of attacks on journalists covering protests, including the shooting of a Kenyan TV reporter on July 16, and the July 17 arrest of a Kenyan veteran journalist in what the police later described as “mistaken identity” triggered the July 24 journalists’ protests across Kenya.
In the July 27 interview, Mrs. Kabugu called upon the President William Samoei Ruto-led government to refrain from using excessive force when dealing with protesters.
She said, “The use of live bullets on peaceful protesters is a violation of the state’s moral and legal obligations to protect all citizens.”
“We also implore all parties concerned to embrace active non-violence as a means to express and resolve grievances,” the Kenyan Catholic journalist told ACI Africa.
She continued, “As Catholic media practitioners, we are committed to promoting the right to information and contributing to the prosperity and growth of a peaceful country.”
The various Catholic media houses operational in Nairobi Archdiocese include Paulines Publications Africa, the National Mirror, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops Communications (KCCB), the Archdiocese of Nairobi, the New People Media Centre, and the Messenger of Mary Immaculate.
Others are Radio Maria Nairobi, the Bosco Eastern Africa Multimedia Services (BEAMS), the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa(AMECEA), The Seed magazine, Loyola Center for Media and Communications, Radio Waumini, Capuchin TV, and the Association for Catholic Information in Africa (ACI Africa).
