By Musindi Nzuma
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| Mr Mutiso and KNA Trainee Faith katile |
A Machakos journalist is nursing injuries after he was attacked by prison warders at the Machakos Law Courts. Jonathan Mutiso was filming a prisoner who had climbed atop the roof of the Courts for unknown reasons when the warders pounced on him with kicks and blows.
He suffered right arm, head and back injuries. “I was filming the episode right from the roof top up to the time the officers brought him down, handcuffed and bundled him into a waiting prisons van when they suddenly attacked me”, he said.
Mutiso, who serves as Correspondent for Mbaitu FM and The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation said the assailants brushed aside his identity and instead pounded him as their boss watched.
Two Kenya Institute of Mass Communication interns based at the Machakos Kenya News Agency Bureau-Faith Katile and Mary Nabwire took hold of his camera as he fled when curious onlookers intervened.
But they soon found themselves in trouble when the boss, the Machakos Deputy Prisons Commander Mr David Sakwa arrested them and led them to the office of the Machakos Chief Magistrate Ms Marryanne Murage. In the office, the officer ignore pleas by the Chief Magistrate , seized the camera and forced the trainees to delete images that Mr Mutiso had recorded, before setting them free.
Ms Murage confirmed to The Anchor what transpired in her office and added that she felt that it was needless to delete pictures that seemed harmless in her opinion.
Eastern Broadcasting Corporation Managing Director Mr Martin Masai followed up the incident with a letter of protest to the Machakos Prisons Commander Ms Esther Solomon, demanding that offending officers be punished.
Solomon has described the incident as regrettable and tendered her personal apology to Mr Mutiso, adding that internal instruments would be used to punish those concerned.
Media organizations- the Media Council of Kenya, the Kenya Editors’ Guild and the Kenya Correspondents Association have condemned the attack and are pushing for the offending officers to be prosecuted.
Mr Mutiso has since recorded a statements along with one of the Trainee reporters and a number of prison warders and it appeared that there were efforts to avoid prosecution, given the tone of a letter of apology from Ms Solomon, which is also copied to the Commandant of Kenya Prisons Service.
Media organizations are pressing for prosecution of Mr Mutiso’s assailants to send a message that media workers are equally protected by the law. Two Machakos lawyers Andrew Makundi and John Kimeu have condemned the attack on the journalist and vowed to help him persue the matter to its conclusion.
Eye witnesses said the journalist was hit with rungus by the warders and wondered why their boss did not stop them. Mutiso crossed over to the nearby Machakos police station where he reported the assault case and told to seek medical attention before a P3 form is filled.
