By Betty Luke
The Kenyan media sector has called for compensation of tens of journalists injured while covering protests and other high-risk public events, saying they deserve the same medical and financial support accorded to other victims of violence.
The coalition under the Kenya Media Sector Working Group (KMSWG) faulted the Ministry of Interior over failure to establish a clear framework for the protection of frontline journalists as well as criminalizing attacks during public events.
The group said many journalists had suffered life-changing injuries while carrying out their constitutional duty to inform the public, yet they continued to be overlooked despite the risks they faced.
“While we see other victims of protests being compensated by the state, journalists who suffered life-altering injuries in the line of duty have been completely ignored,” the coalition said, adding that, “the state must urgently facilitate medical and financial compensation for journalists injured in the line of duty during protests.”
The media organizations singled out Nakuru-based journalist Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki, who was shot by police while wearing clearly identifiable press gear covering protests in 2024.
The coalition also challenged media owners and newsroom managers to improve journalists’ welfare by providing comprehensive medical insurance for reporters assigned to dangerous and traumatic assignments.
“Equipping a reporter with merely a helmet and a bulletproof vest, while denying them a health safety net, is akin to signing their death sentence,” the statement read,”providing comprehensive medical cover must be the absolute bare minimum for any practicing journalist risking their life on the frontlines.”
KMSWG warned that journalists continued to face attacks from police officers, politicians and hired gangs during protests and political events, creating an increasingly hostile environment for the media.
The call comes amid increased attacks of attacks on media practitioners from across the country with the recent incident involving an attack on meru based journalists whose equipment were confiscated by alleged ‘goons’ while covering a ‘bunge la mwanachi’ forum in Tigania West constituency.
