Kameme TV Reporter Catherine Wanjeri has broken the silence over the Tuesday police shooting incident that left her nursing gunshot wounds.
Wanjeri, who was on duty during the anti-government protests in Nakuru City, said Friday that she was targeted.
Speaking after being discharged from Nakuru Provincial General Hospital Annex where she was receiving treatment, an emotional Wanjeri said there was bad blood between the police and the media in the run-up to the anti-government protests that Tuesday.
“Something did not seem right when we tried to be friendly with the police. Some of them had requested toothpaste which I always applied on my cheeks to curb the effects of the teargas,” said Wanjeri.
Recalling the events leading to her shooting, the reporter said one of the officers confronted her, asking why journalists were following police and yet the police were not protestors.
“The officer commanded us to leave but my colleagues and I ignored the order. We took his orders lightly because we had covered the previous protests the same way without any issues,” she narrated to a group of journalists that turned up to comfort her.
It is common practice by journalists to be on the side of the police during demonstrations, riots and protests to avoid being on the line of fire and teargas.
She said it never occurred to her there was bad blood between journalists and the police, but quickly added that she was not convinced that she was not the target in the shooting incident.
“We never thought there was enmity, but no one can convince me that I was not a target because it was not the first time they attacked me,” she said.
A week prior to the incident, Wanjeri was hit by a teargas canister on the leg while reporting live on TV.
“My colleague at the Nation Media Group was also affected,” she said, recalling that one of the officers, who she could remember, told her she was a marked person.
However, she did not report the threat to any police station because she could not believe that she would be a target of the police.
“We were among the first responders on the ground and we used to cover everything that was happening. Maybe from there, the police felt threatened. But I am new in Nakuru and have no grudge against anyone,” said Wanjeri.
At around 3pm on Tuesday, Wanjeri said that things got worse and police started tear-gassing everyone, including prison officers.
She said her mother called and her and told her to be careful, only to be shot seven minutes later.
She said she was told that she was shot four times, but three rubber bullets penetrated her thighs.
“At first because of the numbness I did not know I had been shot but I fell down only to realise I had been shot,” she said.
She further said that the next phone call her mother got was from the doctors to seek consent for her surgery.
She said her blood pressure went up, worried for herself and her mother who is sickly.
Wanjeri condemned the excessive force used by police after hospital reports show more than seven other people were injured, with three sustaining injuries from rubber bullets.
While demanding justice, Wanjeri urged Nakuru County Police Commander Samuel Ndanyi to ensure the officer who shot her is arrested and prosecuted.
“Ndanyi knows his officers and I am sure he knows the officer who shot me and he should ensure the officer is brought to book,” she said.
The reporter, who looks forward to returning to work, said she is worried about the extent of her injury, and how it will affect her physically, emotionally and mentally.
She said she is disturbed at how life can change within the blink of an eye and how now she has scars both physically and mentally.
“I believe that justice will be done,” she said.
