Veteran journalist Macharia Gaitho has spoken after encountering a shocking abduction.
Speaking shortly after being released, Gaitho said that he went to Karen police station with his son seeking help before he was forcefully taken by unidentified people
“We went to Karen Police Station to look for help, then two cars followed us, and they forced me inside a white Probox. I was sandwiched between two men in civilian clothes, handcuffed and assaulted. They were demanding to know why I was resisting arrest.
“I told them I was not resisting arrest, I was resisting criminals. I don’t know who you are you have not identified yourselves and upto now as far as I am concerned you are criminals,” he said.
Gaitho added that the individuals drove him upto Lang’ata road, where they stopped before making a few calls, apparently to their superiors.
The conversation went on for some time and thereafter his abductors decided to turn back.
“That is the time they asked for my ID, I gave it to them. They looked at it and said you are the Francis Gaitho Macharia, I said yes. They asked for my phone number I refused to give it to them. They had previously asked for my phone which I did not give. I did not have it because I had left it with my son,” he said.
Macharia Gaitho: We went to Karen Police Station to look for help, then two cars followed us, and they forced me inside a white Probox. I was sandwiched between two men in civilian clothes, handcuffed and assaulted. They were demanding to know why I was resisting arrest pic.twitter.com/wnifHKloFS
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) July 17, 2024
DCI and National Police Service habe since clarified Gaitho’s arrest saying it was a case of mistaken identity.
The person of interest is renown social media commentator Francis Gaitho.
“The National Police Service would like to clarify to the public that this morning, we arrested journalist Macharia Gaitho in a case of mistaken identity, meant for the arrest of Francis Gaitho who is our subject of investigation. We reiterate that as a Service, we do not target journalists in any way, and today’s incident is highly regrettable.
“The National Police Service remains committed to working with the media while discharging our mandate of promoting accountability and transparency,”NPS said.
