The journalists — Moses Nyamori of the Standard and Luke Awich who works with Radio Africa group — were singled out and attacked while covering an event that saw Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku decamp from Jubilee Party to ODM.
ODM Leader Raila Odinga was present during the political function at the party’s headquarters.
“The incident is unfortunate and quite regrettable. We wish to state that the ODM party does not condone any form of harassment on anyone including members of the press. The party is investigating the incident and those involved will be held to account,” stated Philip Etale, the communications director for ODM Etale committed to ensure that the spearheads of the violence will ultimately be brought to book once investigations are concluded.
“The media is our partner in the political journey that we are pursuing. As a party, we shall do everything possible to ensure the safety of media personnel is guaranteed in all our events; both in the field and at the party headquarters,” he said.
ODM’s statement came even as the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) called for the arrest of those involved in the attack.
In a statement, the council’s Chief Executive Officer David Omwoyo wondered why the party allowed the orchestration of the violence against the journalists and urged the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to investigate the matter expeditiously.
