Attacks on Kenyan Journalists Bad for Accountability and Democracy

On 19 September 2025, Standard Group journalist Collins Kweyu was arrested and detained at the Central Police Station in Nairobi.  

He was later released after public pressure. His arrest was linked to an exposé alleging a Migori-based judge’s involvement in a KSh 10 million bribery scheme.

The timing was deliberate. Friday arrests are a known intimidation tactic, designed to lock someone up for the weekend, stall their work, and force them into Monday’s court process.  

The outrage from journalists, editors, and civil society was swift. Yet this was no isolated case. It fits into a disturbing pattern of harassment, intimidation, and violence against the press in Kenya.

Patterns of Threats and Violence

Across 2025, journalists covering corruption, protests, or abuses of power have faced sustained attacks.

On 19 January, during protests in Molo, Nakuru County, police beat and tore the clothes of journalist Daniel Chege even after he identified himself. His team’s equipment was nearly destroyed.  

On 5 March in Majengo, reporters were assaulted, cameras seized, and footage deleted, a direct obstruction of justice.

On 20 January, an NGO director threatened TV47 journalist Andrew Juma and Standard Group reporters after they exposed a fraudulent scholarship scheme. Instead of accountability, whistleblowers became targets.

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In May, after NTV aired Sacred Swindlers exposing Yahweh Media Services’ gambling racket, journalists began receiving anonymous calls, no threats spoken, but the message was home, we know who you are.

On 14 July, Citizen TV’s Paul Gatere was ambushed, beaten, and robbed in Nairobi, accused of bias for his show.  

On 1 June, during Madaraka Day in Homa Bay, accredited journalists were denied access, harassed, and robbed. And on 14 September, investigative reporter Habil Onyango was abducted, drugged, assaulted, and humiliated, his devices wiped, and a fake apology posted online to discredit him after he exposed county-level corruption.

These are not random incidents. They reflect a systematic effort to weaken the press through both physical violence and psychological intimidation.

Regulatory Overreach and Legal Intimidation

Harassment is not only physical. It is also bureaucratic and legal.

During the nationwide anti-tax protests, the Communications Authority (CA) ordered broadcasters to suspend live coverage, citing “public order”, a move that exceeded its statutory mandate under the Kenya Information and Communications Act.  

Cutting signals and censoring live feeds was not just a technical overreach; it was unconstitutional.

After the June 25 exposé on hired goons and disinformation linked to the State House, the Standard received demand letters threatening lawsuits unless it apologized within 48 hours. This tactic, lawfare, uses the threat of costly litigation to stifle watchdog journalism.

Meanwhile, senior officials fuel hostility. Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen accused the media of mobilizing protests, dismissing coverage as “irresponsible journalism.”

Such rhetoric primes the ground for repression, framing the press as partisan actors rather than constitutional watchdogs.

What the Law Actually Says

Kenya’s Constitution, 2010, under Article 34, guarantees freedom of the media.  

Article 33 protects freedom of expression, while Article 35 ensures citizens’ right to information.

Together, they create a framework where the press is not a privilege but a constitutional guarantee.

For those aggrieved by media reporting, channels of redress exist. The Media Council Act (2013) established the Media Complaints Commission, empowered to resolve disputes without resorting to harassment.  

The Defamation Act (Cap 36) further allows civil remedies for reputational harm, while the Access to Information Act (2016) reinforces transparency obligations.  

In short, Kenya already has legal tools to handle grievances lawfully.

What we are witnessing, instead, is a bypass of lawful redress in favor of intimidation, abduction, and violence, actions that are plainly illegal.

Kenya also has international obligations.  

Under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Kenya must protect press freedom.  

Every assault on a journalist is not only a domestic constitutional breach but an international violation.

Why This Matters for Democracy

These attacks reveal a dangerous, repeating pattern.  

One, direct state involvement, as evidenced by police, regulatory authorities, and county officials being implicated in harassment and suppression.

Two, corruption exposés trigger swift retaliation.  

Three: seizing devices, deleting evidence, and fabricating online posts erase truth and protect perpetrators.

Four, demand letters, censorship orders, and spurious lawsuits are deployed to silence dissent. Five, politicians frame the press as enemies, justifying clampdowns.

This is not random. It is systematic, a deliberate campaign to muzzle the press.

Also Read: Police Bow to Pressure, Release Standard Group Journalist

Yet, without journalists, corruption thrives. Human rights abuses go unchecked. Public funds are stolen in silence, and democracy suffocates.

The government must recognize that how it treats its journalists shapes its global image.

Kenya currently ranks 117th on the World Press Freedom Index, a sharp drop from 69th in 2022. While this is still better than Uganda (143rd), the direction is clearly downward. If unchecked, Kenya risks being grouped with states where the press is controlled, silenced, or eliminated.

The Way Forward

Kenya needs not reinvent the wheel. Solutions are within reach if there is political will.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) must be empowered to independently investigate and prosecute police misconduct against journalists.

Parliament should enact clear journalist safety provisions, making intimidation, abduction, or unlawful detention punishable offences.

The Office of the DPP must prosecute attacks without political interference.

Police and military officers need systematic training on media rights and lawful engagement.

The Media Council of Kenya should provide rapid protection mechanisms for threatened journalists.

International partners, too, must hold Kenya accountable under its treaty obligations.

In conclusion, attacks on journalists are attacks on democracy itself.  

Every unlawful arrest, every assault, every silencing order is not just a blow against the press, it is a blow against the Constitution and against every

Kenyan citizens’ right to know.

The government of President William Ruto must recognize that a state hostile to the press is a state hostile to its own democracy. 

Kenya must choose to uphold the rule of law, or slide back into secrecy, propaganda, and fear.  

Because the day we stop defending journalists is the day democracy itself dies.  

Without accountability, there can be no freedom. Without a free press, there can be no democracy.

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