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Journalist arrested after posting photos of attack on KDF camp


Journalist and blogger Yassin Juma was on Saturday night arrested over photos he posted on his blog and social media accounts on the attack by Al-Shabaab militants on a Kenyan military camp in El-Adde, Somalia.

Mr Juma was on Sunday grilled by detectives over the photos

He was arrested at his residence in Donholm estate, Nairobi, on Saturday at around 8pm by eight officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters and taken to the Muthaiga police station.

“I was from the hospital when I was arrested by eight police officers in two cars. They took me to my house where they conducted a search before they escorted me to the police station,” he told Nation at the police station.

The detectives ransacked his house, looked through the contents of his laptops and took away his flash disks.

Mr Juma however said that he had not been informed of the charges he was going to face.

MISUSE OF GADGETS

An entry in the Occurrence Book, OB 52/23/01/2016, indicates that he was accused of “misuse of communication gadgets.”

The photos on his blog and social media handles had showed the massive losses suffered by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) during the attack by the Islamist militants.

The photos showed torched KDF Humvees and lorries in the wake of the attack.

Journalist and blogger Yassin Juma inside a cell at the Muthaiga police station on January 23, 2016. PHOTO | COURTESY
Journalist and blogger Yassin Juma inside a cell at the Muthaiga police station on January 23, 2016. PHOTO | COURTESY

‘FEAR-MONGERING’

A day after the attack, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Nkaissery warned Kenyans against sharing alarming pictures and information about the deadly El Adde attack, adding that doing so served to further Al Shabaab’s fear-mongering agenda.

The Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett also warned that police would deal firmly with people who were “using media freedom to spread images that glorify terrorists.”

“As a matter of fact, we have persons of interest that will soon appear before court to answer to the offences. We also call upon the media to discharge their duties with responsibility and not become unwitting voices of terrorist groups,” he said.

Journalist Yassin Juma during an assignment in Somalia. PHOTO | FILE
Journalist Yassin Juma during an assignment in Somalia. PHOTO | FILE