National

Nation journalist attacked at gunpoint, links ambush to 'controversial article'

Nation Media Group’s Murang’a Correspondent Mwangi Muiruri. (Handout)

By Eastleigh Voice Reporter | Friday, March 15, 2024

On Monday, the journalist wrote an article saying Maribe had been appointed to the ministry headed by former Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.

The Friday morning attack on Nation Media Group’s Murang’a Correspondent Mwangi Muiruri by unknown people in the Makutano area has again ignited the debate on the safety and security of journalists in the country.

The long-serving journalist says he was attacked at gunpoint by three men who approached him in a white car at around 5:30 a.m. as he was heading to work.

Keep reading

The attackers, according to him, demanded his phone and forcefully took away some of the money he had tucked in his shirt pocket before speeding off. He claimed that the process left his left eye slightly injured.

Perturbed, he reported the matter at Makutano police station, where he said he was handed OB number 06/15/03/2024.

The journalist has linked the incident with an article he wrote on journalist Jacque Maribe's controversial appointment to Director of Communications at the Ministry of Public Service, Performance, and Delivery Management.

On Monday, the journalist wrote an article saying Maribe had been appointed to the ministry headed by former Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.

In the article, he quoted the CS as having confirmed the appointment on Sunday.

“It is true, except that I am not the one who appointed her but the Public Service Commission,” the article stated.

The news attracted a lot of reactions from Kenyans on social media, some of whom supported Maribe’s appointment, saying she deserved a second chance after being acquitted of a murder charge by the High Court.

Maribe has been battling a murder case in court alongside her ex-fiance Joseph "Jowie" Irungu following the killing of businesswoman Monicah Kimani at Lamuria Gardens on September 19, 2018. She was acquitted by the court.

Others believed her appointment demonstrated a lack of merit in government appointments.

Following the backlash, PSC Chairperson Amb Anthony Muchiri published a statement on Thursday denying having appointed the former Citizen TV journalist and added that no such request had been made to the commission contrary to “social media posts attributed to Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria.”.

“For the record, the said position will be filled through a competitive recruitment process should a vacancy arise,” Amb. Muchiri added.

What followed was a social media post by CS Kuria, who claimed that he had never been interviewed by the media house regarding Maribe’s appointment.

“Contrary to reports by the Nation, I have never been interviewed by the Media House, made any comment, or made any announcement about Jacque Maribe. I have challenged CEO Stephen Gitagama to provide evidence from one Mwangi Muiruri who wrote the article,” Kuria posted on X and shared the alleged response that the journalist quoted in his story.

The CS further claimed that the screenshot was a forgery and that he would proceed to the DCI headquarters on Friday morning to report both the media house and the journalist for alleged fraud and forgery.

At the time of publishing this article, it was not clear if the CS had reported the matter to DCI.