Home News Macharia Gaitho arrest; Mistaken identity or planned abduction?

Macharia Gaitho arrest; Mistaken identity or planned abduction?

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[Veteran journalist and Daily Nation Newspaper columnist Francis Macharia Gaitho. He was on July, 17, 24 abducted by Kenya's police officers right inside Karen police station in Nairobi. Photo/courtesy].

Veteran journalist Francis Macharia Gaitho was on Wednesday morning abducted by police officer while inside Karen police station where he had gone to seek police assistance.

Gaitho says after noticing two white Subaru vehicles trailing him he drove inside Karen police station to seek assistance but he was handcuffed and bundled in a Probox and driven off Lang’ata road.

According to the veteran journalist and a member of the Kenya Editors Guild, he was assaulted by the security agents demanding why he was resisting arrest.

A video taken by Gaitho’s son, Andrew shows the journalist being forcibly bundled into a private car by individuals believed to be uniformed police officers, as well as others who were in civilian.

According to Andrew, his father had driven to the police station seeking refuge after noticing a suspicious vehicle following him through traffic.

However, once inside the police station, Gaitho was confronted by the group and forcibly removed, with other police officers at the station enjoying the scene without intervening.

“We went to Karen Police Station to look for help, then two cars followed us, and they forced me inside a white Probox. I was sandwiched between two men in civilian clothes, handcuffed and assaulted. They were demanding to know why I was resisting arrest”

Gaitho an established and famously known columnist for the Daily Nation Newspaper recently penned ‘A people’s revolt in the offing’ which even make the incident a more concerning to the media fraternity and Kenyans.

He says after assaulting him and making long calls to their ‘purported seniors’ the police men only told him that it was a mistaken identity and they let him go.

The abduction of the renowned media personality right in a police station only highlights the disregard for the safety and security of those reporting on public interest issues.

The Director of Criminal Investigation Mohamed Amin however, said the arrest of veteran journalist Macharia Gaitho is a case of mistaken identity.

 

 

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