6 November 2009
Nairobi — Journalists were on Friday harassed by security officers as they tried to interview International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Mr Moreno-Ocampo spent the better part of the day at the Nairobi National Park, but security officers would not allow journalists to speak to him.
The officers shoved and pushed journalists who were part of a group invited by the Kenya Wildlife Service to Mr Moreno-Ocampo's tour.
A female radio journalist was manhandled near the park's gate and a confrontation ensued as journalists demanded that the responsible officer apologise. Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo, who was in the group, only spoke out to say: "Give Mr Ocampo room to breath." He, too, would not talk to the curious journalists.
After lunch at a restaurant in the park, they left through the back door. Mr Moreno-Ocampo was whisked off in a tinted government Mercedes Benz and Mr Kilonzo left in his Toyota Prado, waving at the frustrated journalists. Mr Moreno-Ocampo is said to have later met United Nations officials at their Gigiri complex.
Some officers in his security detail said they were surprised to see journalists as the game drive was supposed to be private. A veil has been thrown over the ICC prosecutor's visit, as on his arrival, he was sneaked out of the airport through the cargo exit.
A press conference that he was to address after meeting President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga was cancelled without explanation. By Friday, several politicians and activists had given up on ever meeting him. Mr Moreno-Ocampo leaves Kenya on Saturday.
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