The attack on journalists covering the Ol Kalou by-election is yet another disturbing reminder that Kenya is becoming increasingly hostile to the very people entrusted with informing the public.
Reporters from the Star and Nation newspapers were assaulted by masked thugs, while their cameras and phones were stolen. Their only offence was doing their constitutional duty.
This was not just an attack on individual journalists. It was a direct assault on press freedom, democracy and the constitution itself. When those armed with cameras and notebooks are treated like enemies, it is the truth that becomes the ultimate casualty.
Journalism is not a crime. A free press exists to witness events, expose wrongdoing and give citizens accurate information on which to make informed decisions.
Those who intimidate or brutalise journalists are sending a chilling message that violence, rather than accountability, will dictate the national conversation.
The government can no longer issue routine condemnations while such attacks continue with impunity. It must identify, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators, together with those who planned, financed or incited these criminal acts.
Political leaders must also stop using violence and hired goons to silence scrutiny.
Kenya's democracy cannot survive if journalists must wear helmets instead of press badges. Do not shoot the messenger. Protect those who tell the nation's story, or risk becoming a country where fear triumphs over truth and impunity replaces the rule of law.
Quote of the Day: “A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” —South African President and Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918
