Outrage has greeted the arrest of a journalist over a story on Sh3.8 billion spending by the Ministry of Interior that has been questioned by the Auditor General and is the subject of a probe by a parliamentary watchdog.
John Ngirachu from the Nation Media Group was arrested yesterday soon after he was lured out of Parliament's media centre and detained by authorities who wanted him to disclose sources of his story.
The journalist's arrest is in relation to a story, also carried by the three other dailies - The Standard, The Star and the People Daily - quoting a document read before the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee detailing expenditure of security items by the ministry.
The payment raised questions as it was made on the last day of the 2014/2015 financial year. Sh3.85 billion was spent in one day, making Auditor General Edward Ouko unable to determine whether the money was legally spent.
And when asked about the arrest, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaiserry said the information published was private.
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"That information was supposed to be private so whoever leaked it should explain. Your friend should explain to the police where he got that information from and he will be released," said Nkaissery, who had last week blamed Parliament for releasing confidential information to the media. Ngirachu was released last night.
Initially, Nkaiserry reacted to reporters' questions as though he was not aware that a journalist was being held at the CID headquarters off Kiambu Road in Nairobi.
"Your colleague has been arrested! Is he arrested?" asked Nkaiserry with sarcasm before adding that journalists must be ready to reveal sources of their information.
Even as he defended the decision, Opposition leader Raila Odinga, Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), Kenya Parliamentary Journalist Association (KPJA) and the Kenya Editors Guild condemned the incident.
Raila said he learnt about the absurd condition with utter shock and promised to stand in solidarity with the media fraternity.
"You can't compel a journalist to reveal his sources. We are protected by law. It shows total ignorance of the law that governs journalistic practice," said Standard Group's Online Editor and Kenya Editors' Guild official David Ohito.
"We demand an apology from the police and specifically the Interior CS for infringing on the freedom of journalists to cover Parliament," said KPJA Chairperson Roselyne Obala, adding the documents in question were in public domain.
KUJ termed the incident "another sad day for the media industry".
"We are indeed disappointed with this unpolished language of an otherwise senior Cabinet secretary; phrases such as 'frying' an innocent journalist could at best find home back in the 1980s when Nkaissery led an infamous military 'security operation' against potentially innocent villagers in West Pokot," said Kenya Editors Guild Chairman Linus Kaikai.
