Machakos Based Journalists have commenced a blackout on the County government in protest against attacks by people believed to be linked with Senior County Government officials.
During the joint presser held at Machakos town, the members of the fourth estate vowed to boycott and blacklist all the County functions if they will not address their security concerns.
The journalists condemned attacks on one of their colleague Pascal Ndei, a reporter and sub-editor of Citizen Weekly Newspaper who sustained injuries in the head and mostly the upper torso.
“It has come to our attention that one of our colleagues by the name Pascal Ndei was attacked last week by goons in unclear circumstances. We have learned this with a lot of dismay and concern that the attackers claimed that the Journalist continued to write stories about happenings within the County Government circle. As Machakos County Based Journalists, we demand an explanation from the County Government of Machakos on whether the attackers were under instructions from the government,” a statement from the joint press release seen by Mauvoo News stated.
It is reported that a group of 5 Machakos-based goons, three men and two ladies allegedly linked to senior Machakos county government officials attacked the journalist.
The Journalists claimed that three suspects were arrested and later released by the police in unclear circumstances.
“Following on the attack from our colleague, we demand assurance that the Journalists are safe when discharging their duties. Our relationship with the county government of Machakos has been cordial and if this attack was sanctioned by a county official, then we feel threatened. Therefore, we demand an apology from the county government if they were involved in the attack, in the event they were not involved l, they should denounce the criminals who we believe are well known to them failure to which we will boycott all the County government functions,” the statement read.
The incident was reported at the Machakos Police Station under OB No 17/22/2023.
Journalist Pascal Ndei was accused of a publication in Citizen Weekly newspaper linking Machakos county government to corruption deals leading to even resignation of sports County Executive Committee Member (CECM) Onesmus Muasya.
