RSF condemns journalist attacks at Kenya rally

Reporters Without Borders condemned what it said were assaults on at least eight journalists, including two working for AFP, around an opposition rally in Homa Bay in southwestern Kenya.

Violence broke out on Sunday ahead of a rally by the opposition movement Linda Mwananchi, which is seeking to oust President William Ruto in elections due next year.

RSF said at least eight journalists were assaulted and media vehicles were vandalised before and during the rally. It said AFP video journalist Fred Ooko and photographer Brian Ongoro were attacked by a group of armed men, severely beaten, and had equipment, money and identity papers stolen.

Journalists from the Kenyan Standard Group, Mediamax Network and Royal Media Services were also attacked, RSF said.

“Less than a year before the general elections, RSF is extremely concerned by the attacks against these journalists, who were assaulted and prevented from doing their jobs,” RSF's Jeanne Lagarde said. “This hostility towards the media is incompatible with a free election.”

Earlier accounts from the scene described chaotic scenes in Homa Bay, with groups of men attacking passersby and snatching valuables. Scores of men, some armed with sticks and machetes, moved through streets, while others lit tyres or built makeshift barricades on a main road.

Kenyan police spokesperson Michael Muchiri said on Sunday that 15 people had been arrested on Saturday and that investigations suggested they were hired criminals who allegedly planned to disrupt political activities in the area.

Opposition leaders have denounced what they describe as an increasingly hostile climate. Observers have warned about the growing use by all sides of armed thugs, known in Kenya as “goons”, to disrupt rival political rallies or provide protection.