Police release four filmmakers arrested over BBC documentary ‘Blood Parliament’
The film that exposed the identities of some of the security officers behind the shootings that led to the killings triggered a public outcry and condemnation over growing human rights abuses in the country.
Four filmmakers linked with the viral BBC documentary Blood Parliament have been released from Pangani Police Station on free bond after spending the night in custody.
The four, Nicholas Gichuki , Brian Adagala, Mark Denver Karubiu and Christopher Wamae, were released after recording statements following their arrest on Friday night at their studio in Karen in unclear circumstances.
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Their release on Saturday morning was confirmed by LSK lawyer Ian Mutiso and Africa Uncensored CEO John-Allan Namu.
Their release follows a night of public outcry over the government's overreach in its attempt to silence dissenting voices, following the killings of at least 60 Kenyans during last year's anti-Finance Bill protests.
The film that exposed the identities of some of the security officers behind the shootings that led to the killings triggered a public outcry and condemnation over growing human rights abuses in the country.
The film also received a major political backlash from politicians, some of whom claimed Kenyans had moved on from the aftermath of last year's protests.
"Their arrest, believed to be politically motivated, raises grave concerns about the increasing weaponisation of law enforcement against independent journalism and documentary filmmaking. These detentions, carried out without publicly available warrants or formal charges, signal a chilling escalation in the erosion of media freedoms in Kenya,” the Civic Freedoms Forum (CFF) said in a statement.
The forum comprises Defenders Coalition, Article 19 East Africa, IMLU, Transparency International and Muslims for Human Rights, amongst other human rights groups.
They added that the blatant act of intimidation that occurred on the eve of World Press Freedom Day is not just ironic but a deliberate affront to the values enshrined in Kenya’s Constitution and the international conventions that Kenya has ratified.
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