When he got there, officers in civilian clothes who refused to identify themselves, dragged him out his car and drove him away — while his son watched helplessly, and filmed it.
The video went viral, amid ongoing protests originally sparked by proposed tax hikes. The police response to demonstrations around the country has become increasingly violent, and advocacy groups say journalists have been specifically attacked.
Gaitho, 65, was released after the video of the July 17 incident spread online. Police said it was a case of “mistaken identity,” and they were looking for a blogger with the same last name.
“I was obviously targeted, I don’t buy the fiction that it was a mistaken identity,” Gaitho told OCCRP. “This government has a phobia of the media.”
The Kenyan police denied singling out journalists in their response to the protests.
"We do not target journalists in any way, and today’s incident is highly regrettable," they wrote on X referring to Gaitho’s abduction. Resila Onyango, a spokesperson for the Kenyan police, referred to this statement when asked for comment.
Many journalists disagree, with some saying police fired teargas directly at them during protests.
The day before Gaitho was abducted, Catherine Wanjeri wa Kariuki, a reporter for Mediamax, was shot in the thigh several times with rubber bullets as she covered protests in Nakuru county. She was clearly identifiable, wearing a press jacket and media tag. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Kenyan authorities to immediately investigate the shooting.
“We are very worried,” said Victor Bwire of the Media Council of Kenya, an independent institution that safeguards media freedom. “The violence against journalists is unwarranted, unacceptable and a violation of our own laws in this country.”
The Kenya Editors’ Guild echoed these concerns, stating that the “rule of law is in grave danger in this country.”
On July 18, the Kenyan police announced an indefinite ban on protests in Nairobi’s center, but this was later overridden by the High Court, which stated that citizens have a right to demonstrate peacefully.
Protests have continued even after President William Ruto withdrew the legislation proposing tax increases, and fired his cabinet. The movement has grown to encompass wider discontent with a government accused of corruption and poor governance, with protestors calling for Ruto to resign. At least 50 protestors have died and over 400 have been injured since the protests began, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.
“It is sad that somebody would think that by harassing journalists, they will stop the conflicts,” Bwire from the Media Council said. “They are merely carrying out their work.”