The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Rose Athumani
18 March 2008
Dar es Salaam — The media has condemned the Kenyan army for assaulting and blocking journalists from covering the force's swoop on civilian militia in the western Mount Elgon region.
Reporters Without Borders yesterday issued a press statement expressing concern over the recent harassment of reporters by the military saying the move would deprive Kenyans of the right to know what was going on in their country.
The Kenyan army has embarked on a sweeping operation against the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SDLF), an armed tribal group accused of ethnic murders in the region.
And the media has been barred from covering the operation raising concerns about the army's disregard of press freedom and laws protecting journalists.
"Sidelining the media is totally unacceptable and we expect the army to respect laws that protect journalists".
"There is no excuse at all for soldiers to use force against the media. The military is obliged to respect laws and conventions protecting journalists, and we expect Kenya's civilian authorities to ensure the military realises this," said the statement.
The concerns raised by the press freedom organisation come amid reports that the army recently physically assaulted several journalists covering the operation.
Some of the victims are Sammy Cheboi of the Nation Media Group (NMG), and NTV cameramen Hillary Obinda and Bakari Juma who were detained, beaten and had their cameras confiscated by the army at a base in the area.
They recovered their cameras later and were ordered to leave the area.
Meanwhile, the army has sealed off the entire region, blocking even members of the International Committee of the Red Cross to have access to the area.
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