Samuel Otieno And Cyrus Ombati
18 January 2008
Nairobi — Journalists once again faced the wrath of police last evening when they were forced out of Kibera where GSU officers were conducting an operation.
Angry GSU officers cordoned off the entrance to the slums to bar journalists from witnessing the operation, which left four people killed.
The officers, armed with batons, guns and teargas canisters had earlier engaged the demonstrators, who were armed with slings and stones, in fierce running battles.
The police at one point targeted a teenager in a red T-shirt who had earlier smashed the windscreen of a lorry carrying the officers with a stone from a sling.
Officers inside the lorry were angered by the boy's action and pursued him inside the slums.
Journalists who were following the officers were shocked when the police turned on them and blocked the way to prevent them from covering the operation.
From a distance, journalists witnessed how the officers threw teargas canisters inside the shacks where the residents had taken refuge.
But when the officers realised that photojournalists were filming them, they threw a teargas canister to scare them away.
However, journalists were determined to carry on with their job and continued to film as the GSU officers sprayed the shacks with live ammunition.
In addition, they ensured that they dropped teargas canisters in areas they suspected that the demonstrators had taken refuge.
On Wednesday, police had lobbed teargas canisters to journalists covering the ODM demonstrations.
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