Sunday, October 27, 2013
Kenya's president on Saturday warned against attempts to smear the
security forces, who have been accused of looting during an Islamist
attack on a Nairobi mall last month.
"We should not be too quick to vilify our security forces because
they work hard for the country's safety sometimes even endangering their
lives," Uhuru Kenyatta said.
He defended his police chief David Kimaiyo, who earlier this week
threatened to arrest journalists after Kenyan media reported on the
alleged looting during the four-day siege at the Westgate mall.
The police had summoned for questioning journalists from a channel
that had aired security camera footage purportedly showing soldiers
stealing goods from the upmarket shopping centre.
The Committee to Protect Journalists warned of a "downward spiral in
terms of media freedoms" and the uproar among Kenya's vibrant press had
led the police to go back on the order.
"The police chief was only warning journalists against giving too much coverage to terrorists," Kenyatta said Saturday.
The late September attack claimed by Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab
group left 67 dead, including Kenyatta's own nephew, and shocked the
east African nation.