Media Council to seek legal action against attacks on scribes

The Media Council of Kenya has cautioned members of the public against attacking journalists in their line of duty.

MCK has said it will continue following up on such incidents and ensure they are deterred so as to provide a safe working environment for journalists.

Jackson Karanja, a media and communication trainer under the Council urged journalists to ensure they report cases of attacks to the council for assistance.

Last month, a female journalist was allegedly attacked by supporters of a lawmaker during a public meeting.

She was attending a meeting where heads of parastatals were meeting women and people living with disabilities in Kenol town when two alleged supporters of the lawmaker pounced and dragged her away.

The incident that attracted the attention of attendees saw a number of people intervene to try and stop the attack that happened just metres away from the podium.

“One of the men hit me on the head and I couldn’t understand why they were attacking me,” she said, adding that she had reported the matter to the local police and obtained an OB number.

Karanja said such attacks were unfortunate and that the Council would consider seeking legal redress to deter them.

“As a council, we condemn attacks on journalists who should be allowed to work without intimidation or harassment," he said.

He said this during a training forum in Murang’a town on Thursday in which he urged journalists to join association and press clubs to benefit from financial support from the council and other donors.

The council offers grants to accredited journalists to work on feature stories on different thematic areas and also offers monetary support to journalists' associations to cushion them from the tough economic times.

“Journalists associations and press clubs are the future of journalism. They enable journalists to work together to pitch stories and work on feature stories”.

Media houses were also urged to establish departments that offer debriefing sessions to journalists to help them maintain their mental well-being.