Police threats on journalists draws more condemnation

By Wilfred Ayaga

Kenya: Condemnation over police summonses against two journalists in the aftermath of the Westgate Mall attack continued Monday with the International Federation for Journalists (IFJ) and the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) joining the fray.

The two umbrella bodies issued a joint statement in which they denounced the summonses against KTN journalists John Allan Namu and Mohammed Ali over their coverage of the terrorist attack. They termed the action a diversionary tactic aimed at intimidating professionals doing their work.

“Journalists and all media practitioners have done their duty in professionally covering the Westgate mall attacks. What they reported was indeed what happened. They must not be intimidated for the way they covered the events,” said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa Director.

The two Standard Media Group journalists were last week issued with police summons after they revealed CCTV footage that chronicled the events in the Westgate Mall in the aftermath of the terrorist attack that left 68 people dead and hundreds others wounded. Also issued with the summonses was the Standard Group Chief Executive Sam Shollei.