Caption: Kitui journalists protesting against alleged intimidation by former LSK chairman Eric Mutua. (Lawrence Kioko/hivisasa.com)
Kitui journalists on Monday took to the streets to protest against what they termed as threats and intimidation from former LSK chairman Eric Mutua.
They said Mr Mutua had instituted defamation charges against some of their colleagues over a story they carried, where clients of his law firm (EK Mutua & Co. Advocates) staged a peaceful demo at Mwingi town demanding payment of their delayed restitution.
They accused the Nairobi lawyer, who is also eying the Mwingi Central parliamentary seat in the oncoming elections, of misusing the justice system to forestall public scrutiny following the said delay of insurance compensation.
“The constitution protects and guarantees our freedom as the press. We are not going to allow anyone to intimidate or bar us from performing our duty to members of the public just because they are unhappy with a particular story,” said Abel Mutuku of NTV.
Wikwatyo FM’s Ferdinard Muthui said the demonstration should serve as a warning to like-minded persons out there who think they can use courts to silence journalists in the county and the country at large.
Reached for comment, Mutua said the journalists had a constitutional right to stage demonstrations but maintained that he would pursue the court cases since the story cast him in bad light yet he received no payments for the aggrieved clients.