Alex Kiprotich, associate editor at the Standard Group ーa leading Kenyan multimedia organisationー was found safe on 2 September after being abducted the previous day by four armed men along the Gilgil-Nakuru road, in the western-central part of the country. He was held for nine hours before being abandoned near Masinga Dam, around 200 kilometres southeast of Nakuru, the following day. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), and other national media organisations in condemning this criminal act against a journalist. They call for an impartial investigation into this heinous offence to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
The Standard Group reported that Kiprotich was found at around 2 a.m., approximately ten meters from the Masinga Dam, after having been abandoned by his captors. He had taken refuge in a nearby house, before a Standard Group team located him at 6:30 a.m. on 2 September. He was visibly shaken by the ordeal.
Kiprotich told his colleagues that he had been taken “by four masked men armed with AK-47s, who were travelling in a Subaru vehicle, bearing the registration number KDE 125E.” According to the Standard Group investigations, the car, which was fitted with a siren, belonged to the government, and the journalists’ abductors were likely to be police officers.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Standard Group, Chaacha Mwita said that this is not the first time that Kiprotich has been targeted. “On 27 June, armed men in a Toyota Probox ーa vehicle model repeatedly linked to the enforced disappearances of government criticsー tried to seize him from his car as he drove to work in Nakuru. He escaped by locking his doors and driving off.”
The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has published a statement calling on the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, to conduct an immediate, thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Kiprotich’s abduction. “Impunity for crimes against journalists in the country and increasing cases of press freedom violations are a major concern for the Council, which has repeatedly raised the matter with the relevant investigative agencies.” The Council also emphasised that the state is responsible for ensuring that journalists are not intimidated or harassed while working, as this violates the fundamental media freedoms guaranteed by the constitution, which is a threat to democracy.
IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: “The abduction of editor Alex Kiprotich by armed men poses a threat to the right to life, constitutes a capital offence and is an attempt to intimidate and silence the entire Kenyan journalistic community. Those responsible must be investigated and brought to justice. Such a serious criminal offence against a journalist must not go unpunished.”
