MCK Makes 2 Demands After Journalists Were Assaulted Inside Kettle House Club

The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has come out to protest the violence meted out on journalists accompanying NACADA officials during a raid into a Nairobi entertainment joint.

They were attacked on Friday, January 5, at Kettle House Club which NACADA had raided in its crackdown against joints dealing in Shisha.

Revellers and bouncers descended on the journalists and law enforcers who had accompanied the anti-drug agency officials.

Reacting to the development, MCK through its chief executive David Omwoyo called for the compensation of the injured scribes and the replacement of destroyed equipment.

Omwoyo noted that the attack sadly signified the infringement of the freedom of the media and practitioners while on duty.

"The Media Council of Kenya condemns the attacks against a journalist accompanying officers from the NACADA during a raid at the Kettle Bar House and Grill. By targeting journalists who were only performing their duties, the attackers were clearly seeking to interfere with the media’s right to inform Kenyans on matters of importance that affect their lives," read part of Omwoyo's statement.

MCK however commended the police for their swift action in apprehending the perpetrators.

Omwoyo called on the Inspector General of the National Police Service and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Kenya to expedite their probe and bring the perpetrators to book.

Joining the condemners was Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale who termed the attack on the scribes as backward and primitive.

Duale maintained his stance against the Shisha joints, saying the fight against their dealings will remain on.

"Attacking journalists and law enforcement officers is illegal, primitive and immoral. We must protect the family from drug abuse," said Duale.