Shock and fury as Meru Woman Rep Hon Kawira Mwangaza ‘kidnaps’ TV journalist days after assault allegations were made public
A TV journalist was on Wednesday forced to recant allegations of assault he had leveled against the controversial Meru Woman Representative Hon. Kawira Mwangaza.
Weru TV journalist Boniface Mwongera has revealed how the Woman Rep with the help of police officers forced him to record a video denouncing his assault allegations against the MP. Mr Mwongera was forced to record an apology to the MP for making an error when covering a court case in which Hon. Mwangaza has sued a vernacular musician, Man Kinyua for defamation.
Hon Mwangaza conspired with the police who tricked the Mr Mwongera by summoning him to Capitol Hill police station to pick his phone which had been confiscated by the MP on Monday outside Milimani Law Courts. On reaching at the police station Mr Mwongera found Hon Kawira’s husband a Mr Murega Baichu who was with two plain clothes police officers who then forced him to read a written apology on camera (video recording)
Hon Kawira’s husband had hired a K24 cameraman a Mr. Austin Ageyo who was allegedly paid only Sh2,500 to film the drama although K24 editors have dismissed assigning the cameraman to cover the incident.
journalist in the larger Meru region were shocked to see their colleague apologize for a mistake he never committed and concluded the journalist had been bribed but now it is confirmed he was under duress when he recanted assault allegations.
Weru TV management has not issued a statement over the incident, but the journalist has already recorded a statement with police insisting he was harassed and forced to recording the video under duress
This is not the first time a VIP is intimidating a journalist or a citizen. Former Deputy CJ Nancy Baraza lost her job after she pinched a security guard’s nose at the Village Market. The media council and the Kenya Union of Journalists should take up the matter and investigate the continued harassment of journalists while on duty.
