Journalists in Kenya have been suffering from an increasing level of violence ahead of the national elections set for March.
This month there have been a series of threats and attacks, including assaults by security officers and members of the public towards journalists who are covering political events.
Henry Maina, east Africa director of the human rights body, Article 19, spke of the "worrying" number of cases in which journalists have been "intimidated and threatened while in the line of duty."
As I reported last week, two journalists from the Nation Media Group were assaulted and injured.
On 18 January, journalists working for the Kenya Television Network were assaulted by political supporters of a prospective election candidate, whom they caught on camera bribing voters.
On 12 January, six journalists narrowly escaped death after youths attempted to attack them during a peace meeting they were covering.
Article 19 has called on the leaders of all Kenyan political parties to respect media freedom and to recognise the public importance of journalists providing information during the election process.
Source: IFEX
