Kenyan journalist shot during anti-govt demos in Nakuru

Kenyan journalist Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki, a reporter with Mediamax Limited, was allegedly shot by police in Nakuru County while covering the youth-led anti-government protests on Tuesday, July 16.

Wanjeri, who reports for Mediamax's vernacular station, Kameme TV, was shot along Kenyatta Avenue, despite being clearly identifiable by her press jacket.

A photo taken at the scene showed Wanjeri lying on the floor after incurring four bullet wounds on her left thigh.

Her colleagues and emergency responders at the scene attempted to reduce the bleeding before she was rushed to nearby facilities for first aid administration.

2 weeks ago, another Mediamax journalist, Joel Chacha, was also injured by teargas while covering the protests along Tom Mboya Street in Nairobi. Chacha is a news anchor and political reporter for Mediamax's subsidiary, K24 TV.

Meanwhile, protests entered the fourth week, with youths demanding either President William Ruto address corruption, the burgeoning national debt, and unemployment, among other grievances, or resign.

Protesters confront police officers along Tom Mboya Street in Nairobi on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. The protests were sparked following the introduction of the Finance Bill, 2024 which has since been withdrawn. (Photo: Justine Ondieki/EV)

This is despite the President withdrawing the contentious Finance Bill 2024, which triggered the protests and also dissolved his entire Cabinet except for Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi, who also serves as the Prime Cabinet Secretary.

Ruto on Monday, July 15, pleaded with the youth to end the protests and embrace dialogue.

He also blamed the Ford Foundation, an American non-governmental organisation, for funding the demos. However, the NGO refuted the allegations but said that it would continue to support Kenya in its development and leadership on an African and global stage, as witnessed in its support for the inaugural African Climate Summit in Nairobi last year.

"We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the finance bill and have a strictly non-partisan policy of all our grantmaking," the foundation responded.

As protests continue in Kenya today, with police accused of using extra force to counter the demonstrators, Ruto was at State House, Nairobi, meeting Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Martin.

"Our relations have expanded into education, especially in science, technical, engineering, and mathematics studies," Ruto said, adding that Kenya's bilateral cooperation with Ireland goes back many decades.

"Other fields of partnership include agricultural research, labour migration, peace and security, and multilateral cooperation at the United Nations, including at the Security Council, where we served together in 2021-2022," he added.