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Police arrest “brutal” headteaher as attack on journalists is condemned

BY MWINGI TIMES REPORTER
The police in Machakos County on Monday evening   arrested St. Stephens Girls’ Secondary principal following an attack on two KTN journalists by the students earlier during the day.
The two journalists Ms Caroline Bii, Mr Boniface Kirera and their driver Boniface Magana were attacked and injured by enraged students who were allegedly incited by their principal. The journalists had visited the school in Kyumvi to pursue a story on a missing student.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) through a tweet confirmed the arrest of the headteacher Mr John Kyalo and Mary Mukami, the mother to the missing student.
One of the jounalists who were attacked
According to Ms Bii, the school principal declined to be interviewed on the alleged missing of a student from the learning institution after which he ordered the students to attack and chase away the journalists from the school.
“ When we arrived at the school I introduced the myself to the principal and what I had come do there after which she declined to be interviewed refereeing us to the school’s director. As we were leaving my colleague was taking the some video clips… then I saw the principal pick a stone and pelted it at the cameraman… I told my colleagues to leave but all of a sudden the students pelted stones and shoes at us, “she narrated to KTN News.
The trio who were left with serious injuries were treated at a local health facility. The students also burnt down their company car and destroyed their working equipment. 
However, according to the Daily Nation the school’s Director Mr Stephen Nzeve, the institution had informed the mother to the missing girl that her daughter was in South B Estate in Nairobi.  He alleged that the girls reacted angrily after the parent who was accompanied by the journalist started harassing the teachers.  
The attack triggered condemnation from media players with the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) issuing a statement castigating the “unfortunate” incident.
“While it is within the right of the school leadership to decline media interviews, it is against the law for anyone to incite and attack journalists who were in their line of duty,” a statement by the MCK’s Chief Executive Officer Mr David Omwoyo read in part.
The Kenya’s media watchdog called on the police to “expedite investigations into the unfortunate incident and bring the culprits to book”. The Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) also voiced their disappointment over the barbaric happening
Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua led leaders in condemning the incident. In a message shared across the county chief’s official social media handles Dr Mutua said: “I condemn the acts of violence involving   students and a media crew in Kyumvi. I have sent a team to the scene.”
Other leaders who condemned the incident include Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula who termed it as a blow to freedom of the media.
Various credible media reports indicated that last year a similar attack was meted at some Machakos based scribes who had visited the school to follow up on another student who had gone missing from the school.

Cases of violence against journalists in Kenya have been on the rise over the recent past years with the authorities doing very little to bring the perpetrators of such heinous act to book.

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