Yet another journalist has been attacked by police as he recorded an operation by police and other national government administrators to enforce social distancing at Mitunguu market, Imenti South, Meru county Saturday.
Gregory Murithi, a cameraman with Weru TV, was accosted by three Administration Police officers and ordered to delete footage showing area assistant county commissioner Richard Korgoren and Chief Stephen Kaaria forcefully evicting the traders.
In the footage, the chief is seen whipping women while the two administrators continue to flatten market sheds and pouring the traders’ wares on the ground during the midday fracas.
It is then that three hawk-eyed police officers noticed that Murithi had captured the inhumane way the two were handling the traders who included a disabled woman.
Even after the reporter identified himself and produced his press badge, one of the officers demanded that he deletes the footage, but he stayed put and declined to part with the camera which they tried to snatch from him forcefully.
“One of the police officers who was trying to take my camera slapped me on my chest and started to walk away. When they saw I was continuing to record, he came back demanding to see my Job ID which he took and walked away with. I continued to record so as to have his clear picture,” recounted Murithi.
Korgeren later personally apologised to the Weru Tv journalist for the thoughtless action by the officers.
The cameraman later reported the matter at the Mitunguu Police station but was kept waiting for more than two hours before the matter was recorded in the occurrence book.
This incident happened only a day afterNTV cameraman Peter Wainaina was clobbered at 5pm by an Administration Police officer in Mombasa as they effected the government’s 7pm-5am curfew at the Likoni ferry channel.
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