Kameme TV journalist Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki who was shot three times by Police officers while covering protests in Nakuru County has spoken for the first time since the brutal attack.
Wanjeri was speaking to the press while on a hospital bed at the Annex Hospital in Nakuru where she is currently nursing her injuries, after being shot in the thigh.
The journalist emotionally narrated the last moments leading to the shooting incident, further claiming that the officers behind the incident could have deliberately targeted her.
She made the claims pointing out that prior to the incident, the officers had lodged teargas cannisters towards her which hit the same leg that was shot.
Wanjeri at the same time recalled how she was teargassed by police officers two weeks ago while also covering protests in the city.
“Nobody would convince me that I was not a target because it is not the first time I had been targeted. I had been hit by a teargas canister, but I did not report…. I did not escalate the thing, I only showed my colleagues,” she said.
The journalist while recalling the fateful day noted that she left home in her official press jacket and a media tag, which made her identifiable while covering the protests.
Little did she know how the events of the day would later unravel to as she and her colleagues made sure they followed the events of the day in Nakuru City.
“At around 1:30pm I left my house thinking that I am going to cover protests and go back home little did I know that I will end up in a hospital with stitches on my thigh and I don’t know what kind of damage those scars are going to do to me,” narrated Wanjeri.
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Wanjeri Shooting Incident
One hour before the shooting incident, Wanjeri was captured in a video seen by The Kenya Times giving aid to a female police officer who was inside a police vehicle.
She was captured giving the officer toothpaste which is believed to help in reducing the effect of teargas on the eyes.
A few moments later, another video which captured the shooting incident showed a police officer inside a vehicle shooting towards the direction where Wanjeri and her colleagues were standing.
Following the shooting, Wanjeri lay down in pain after three rubber bullets penetrated her thigh, with colleagues calling out for help.
She was rushed to Valley Hospital for first aid and thereafter referred to the facility where she is currently recuperating after a surgery that led to the removal of all the three rubber bullets that were lodged in her thigh.
The Kameme TV journalist broke down while calling for the police officers who were in the vehicle to ensure that she got justice by surrendering the officer behind the shooting.
“You people know who shot me, I believe you are human beings and that particular police officer who shot me I know justice will be served to me,” she said as she broke down.
Also Read: LIVE UPDATES: Two Killed, Several Injured in Anti-Govt Protests
Police Called Out for Attack on Journalist
The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) CEO David Omwoyo in a statement condemned Wanjeri’s shooting, terming the incident as shameful and terrifying.
“The shooting of Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki, a journalist attached to Kameme TV, while in the company of other journalists and the police is shameful and terrifying,” he said Omwoyo.
The Kenya Editors’ Guild (KEG) also condemned the continued, targeting, and brazen attacks on journalists covering protests.
On Wednesday, journalists in Nakuru held a peaceful protest against the shooting against their colleague.
On its part, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has condemned the recent attacks on media freedom with President Faith Odhiambo saying the move violates press freedom.
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