The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has taken up the case of veteran journalist Macharia Gaitho who was abducted inside the Karen police station before his release.
Gaitho was abducted by the police before they later clarified that the abduction was a case of mistaken identity.
IPOA on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, hosted Gaitho, his lawyer Danstan Omari and other journalists as they received the complaint over the abduction carried out by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
“IPOA has this afternoon received journalist Macharia Gaitho, his lawyer Danstan Omari, the Kenya Editors Guild and the Kenya Union of Journalists.
“This follows the arrest of Mr Gaitho in Karen this morning, in what the National Police Service later alleged was a case of mistaken identity,” IPOA said in a statement.
“Mr Gaitho’s case has been taken up by IPOA, and the Authority had already sent officers to Karen Police station after videos of Mr Gaitho’s arrest were circulated on social media,” the statement added.
Daughter’s statement
The veteran journalist was released moments after being abducted inside the Karen police station.
The journalist’s daughter Anita Gaitho said her father was roughed up by abductees who refused to identify themselves and took him away inside a Toyota Probox registration number KBC 725 J.
“I’m with my dad @MachariaGaitho. He’s just been brought to Karen police station by the car that abducted him. He’s safe although they roughed him up a bit. We’re making the abduction report right now,” Anita said in a statement on X on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.
“They claim to be DCl, they had guns and handcuffs and refused to identify themselves,” she added.
Speaking to the press after his release on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, Gaitho revealed that he was abducted after seeking refuge inside the police station.
In a statement, the National Police Service (NPS) claimed that Gaitho was arrested following a case of mistaken identity, meant for the arrest of Francis Gaitho.
“The National Police Service would like to clarify to the public that this morning, we arrested journalist Macharia Gaitho in a case of mistaken identity, meant for the arrest of Francis Gaitho who is our subject of investigation,” NPS stated.
“We reiterate that as a Service, we do not target journalists in any way, and today’s incident is highly regrettable. The National Police Service remains committed to working with the media while discharging our mandate of promoting accountability and transparency.”
Francis Gaitho
On July 15, 2024, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) accused Francis Gaitho of making misleading publications on X over the prime suspect in the Kware killings.
“After our press briefing regarding the pursuit and subsequent arrest of the prime suspect in the Kware killings namely Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, we found it unfortunate that some X users discredited our investigation by alleging that we issued a misleading statement by getting the names of our 33-year-old suspect wrong,” DCI stated.
“Specifically, one Francis Gaitho (@FGaitho237) on his X account carelessly and with total disregard to the need to verify information, indicated that there existed no public record of our suspect, and went ahead to post the names, images and description of another innocent Kenyans by the name Jairus Onkundi.”
Francis Gaitho has since offered to present himself at DCI headquarters.
Journalist’s shooting
In a related incident, IPOA announced it is also investigating the shooting of Kameme TV journalist Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki during protests in Nakuru on July 16, 2024.
The protests, which turned violent, have drawn attention to the safety of journalists in the country.
“IPOA’s team in Nakuru has already initiated investigations following the shooting of a Mediamax journalist in Nakuru,” the authority said.
These incidents highlight the growing concerns over the safety and treatment of journalists in Kenya, raising questions about police accountability and the protection of press freedoms in the country.