Under attack: Kenyan journalist takes 3 rubber bullets, Burkina Faso satirist kidnapped by armed men

A journalist in Kenya was shot with rubber bullets three times while covering protests this week. (Simon Maina/AFP)

• A journalist was shot with rubber bullets three times by Kenyan police.
• In Burkina Faso, a satirical columnist at an independent radio station remains missing after being kidnapped by armed men in masks.
• In both countries, the authorities are apparently behind the kidnappings of journalists.

A journalist in Kenya was shot with rubber bullets three times while covering protests this week, and in Burkina Faso, a columnist critical of the military regime was kidnapped.

Catherine Wanjeri wa Kariuki, who works for works for Kameme TV, was shot in Kenya’s Nakuru County on Tuesday while covering the now almost month-long protests against the Kenyan government.

She was fired on despite “being well identified and visibly branded”, said David Omwoyo Omwoyo the chief executive officer of the Media Council of Kenya (MCK).

A video of the incident was posted online and the shots that hit her seemed to have come from a moving police vehicle.

In a statement, Angela Quintal, head of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Africa programme said that the Kenyan police should be tasked with protecting journalists instead of attacking them.

READ | Kenya’s Ruto dismisses almost entire Cabinet after deadly protests

“Kenyan police should be focused on ensuring the safety of journalists, not targeting them with violence or detention, and authorities should act swiftly to hold accountable those responsible,” she said.

According to a Reuters report, one person died during the protests.

Possibly official kidnappings in Burkina Faso, Kenya

On Wednesday, veteran Kenyan journalist Macharia Gaitho was forced into a car by men who would identify themselves only as Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) personnel.

His daughter, Anita Gaitho, raised the alarm on X, posting videos of the cars linked to incident. He was released later in what the police said was a case of mistaken identity.

In Burkina Faso, Alain Traoré, a satirical columnist for private radio station Omega was taken from his home by three masked armed men who claimed to be from the National Intelligence Agency (ANR). He has been missing since 13 July.

Traoré is the fourth journalist to disappear in the space of a month after Serge Atiana Oulon, Kalifara Séré, and Adama Bayala.

Quintal said since the kidnapping was linked to the security forces, they were responsible for his safe return.

She said:

Since January, the military junta in Burkina Faso has been gradually suspending media houses for negative reporting. 

The first suspensions were on foreign media such as the BBC, Voice of America and Deutsche Welle for their coverage of a Human Rights Watch report that placed blame on the regime for the killing of civilians in its battle against Islamist armed groups.

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