She for who?

 

Picture by Caro Katana

Story By Caro katana.

No story is worth dying for....is a saying that most journalist are usually reminded off while in the line of duty. But then again the right to inform the public of what is happening is what has made journalism the most powerful tool of putting governments into account.

 

The threat to female journalists is real especially reporters who covers investigative pieces, terrorism, sensitive court proceeding, crime and politics....
 
Tears of agony ran down her chics when she recalls how she could have lost her life for bringing to the public a story about drug trafficking in Lamu county.

 

Working as a correspondent for a local radio station in Lamu county, Mwanaharusi Rashid dream was to specialize on investigative journalism. As a young journalist, The excitement to uncover, hunt and expose the men behind the I'll in society was abundant.

Little did she know she would become the hunted for airing a court story about drug traffickers in Lamu.

 

"Several of them surrounded me and were asking for my phone, actually they were pulling my phone,  while  shouting and telling me to give them my phone some were pulling away the phone from my hands, and  the phone  screen cracked  because of the pull and push that they were doing, I had to give it to  them  and they  asked me to put my password, and they deleted all photos I had taken that day, " Recalled Ms Mwanaharusi.

Whom to ran to for her safety was a riddle.

"Here in Kenya there is no a safe house  for  female journalists can be housed after doing investigative stories especially stories that touches on security, so without my family standing with me during that time maybe by now I could have been dead because at that time the media house I worked for, not organisation not media council came to my aid, I suffered on my own ,as journalist and as female journalist or journalists at large, we act as watchdogs and activists apart from informing the public about several issues but when it comes to journalists facing challenges we don't get any aid or any help from organisations or media houses, we are left to suffer alone ,"Lamented Ms Mwanaharusi.

Lamu county and the coast of kenya has a history of attacks by the Alshabaab, a terrorist group which has been behind numerous attacks in the region.

"As everyone knows Lamu county has been having issues with security, Alshabaab has been terrorising the place, so working as a reporter in Lamu was risky, every time you go out or you go to the field you go but you fear for your life , so after the incident where the drug dealer was hunting for me ,I lived in fear of doing stories that touched on drugs, any kind of story that touched on insecurity because is the stories that you do that you end up being hunted by suspects, "Claimed Ms Mwanaharusi.

 

It's true that journalism is a thankless job because even my employer didn't care about my safety .

"I reporter the matter to the media council of kenya which fights for the rights of journalists, MCK made a report but I didn't see any light, I was told that I was going to get I new phone but I didn't get a new phone, I had to go back to my pocket and buy new phone, there is need for media owners and government at large to put measures that make sure that female journalists are safe and their rights are protected because as female journalists we suffer alot and we undergo so many risks as we do our job, "Said Ms.Mwanaharusi .

 

No story worthy your life was her rhythm until the day when her family decided to take her back home in Kwale county.

 

"I couldn't go out and do my work, I stayed at home ,I couldn't go to work, I couldn't go the field to cover any story because I was in fear, I relied on my colleagues to give me audio or video clips for me to listen and do my stories so that I send to my editor, it reached a point that I realized it's not a normal life of someone to wait to be fed with information so that can work, "Narrated Ms Mwanaharusi.

 

Journalists are targeted for many reasons and by many people, women journalists and media personnel have been increasingly exposed to violence, with the number of women journalists killed globally, rising steadily since 2010.

 

Salma Hemed, The Deputy executive Director of HAKI AFRICA a human right group against violent extremism and a gender rights activist confirms of over 37 cases of violence against female journalists in 2021 in coast region of Kenya.

 

"After receiving several complaints of sexual harassment by women who are working in different fraternities of recent the most cases that we have been receiving are cases of female journalists in line of their duties are being harassed because of some little favours that maybe they ask for or maybe when they are supposed to execute their duties ,for example there those that says that anytime they are required to go and cover a story they are not allowed to do so by their "Male supervisors" and incase they want them to be given those opportunities, they'll be asked to give them something in return and this something we are talking about is their sexual desire ,"condemned Ms.Hemed.

 

Ms Hemed argues that the Kenyan government has failed to protect the rights of journalists terming it unconstitutional, noting that the organisation in partnership with the Media Council Kenya and other organisations are putting measures to ensure that journalists work under a safe environment.

 

"We want to let people know that gender right is also a human right anyone is obligated and also protected by the constitution, our constitution says everyone has a right to express themselves to accept and deny anything that will not infringe their right ,so this has been a major challenge and we can say that of now HAKI FRICA has also tried to reach out to the media council of Kenya to see how best we can address this issues, the harassment are from the upper level, so this is something that we need to address as an organisation to ensure that they are protected and also they can execute their work just like any other worker, "Lamented Ms Hemed.

 

The deputy director called upon female journalists to stand firm and amplify their voices against any form of violence.

 

"For those that have come forward to openly report their cases to us ,what we have done is to like help them by giving them legal assistance whether it's advise or litigation but majority of them fear to be known that they are the ones who have come to report because they feel if they do so they will lose their jobs, so we have tried also to counsel them to link them to professional counsellors and that has made straits but we are still needed to do something more than that, "She reiterated.

 

Article 33 ,34 and 35 of Kenyan constitution talks about freedom of expression and access to information, why is it that at times we are forced to accompany journalists covering conflict stories ,,,posed Kash Jamein a peace and security advocate .

 

"It has been a challenge for female journalists to be able to collect information in areas that are complex, we know that in some parts of the kwale there are areas that are risk , and in those complex areas it is difficult for a woman journalist to go alone to collect information, maybe she has to be accompanied by a guard or a village resident but it is not an easy task for a woman to go out to get news alone especially in the whole issues of criminal gangs that are in the streets, they have made the situation of journalism more difficult, maybe she should have a bodyguard or someone else to walk with her ,"claimed mr.Kash.

 

Mr. Kash notes that insecurity in the region has affected journalists efforts in trying to ply their trade.

 

"To be honest, in the work we do to defend justice, most of the cases we face are of women ,the security situation has affected women to a greater extent because you find it difficult for a woman to do their normal work if the street she comes from is surrounded by young gangs who cut people with knives and pangas ,You find that if a woman leaves early in the morning to go to work, she must have someone to take her but she can't go out alone because she can't defend herself, similarly if a woman leaves work late it becomes difficult to get home, she has to incur more costs and take a motorcycle to take her home ,"posed mr.Kash.

 

He called upon the Kenyan government to come up with amicable measures to curb insecurity and illegal businesses in the country.

 

"The government, according to my recommendations, should first check what the cause of insecurity is, because even if we say that the government should give someone protection, it will be difficult to be able to consult the police for every journalist who goes to find information, but if the government checks what causes insecurity, what has caused young people to join gangs to be able to disturb people at night with knives, what exactly is the matter so that we can solve it as a government and there are very few things, the first thing you will find is unemployment for young people ," urged mr.Kash

 

Ms mwanakombo jarumani a community member noted the gap between security department and community to be the major source of insecurity.

 

"The cooperation between the police and the citizen is limited, citizen still does not trust the security sector on matters of their safety once they report the suspects , there is a gap, , as peaceful promoters in the society , we have made efforts bring security department closer to the citizen, but still it has not worked ,people fear that security officers might reveal them to the society and action taken against them because the illegal gangs are locals well known to by the community, "She claimed.

 

On his side Yusuf Lule director human right agenda organisation, HURIA said there is hope to restore peace and security in Kenya through county action plan to end violence extremism.

 

"There are many things that we as a country are trying to succeed, the first is the county action plan system that we started, which we create procedures or methods that are specific to different parts because if you use the straight jackets method or one method should be used all over the country, it becomes difficult in every area it has different challenges, so that is one thing that we have started as a country and it has helped a lot, the second is that we have also been able to bring government and non-government institutions closer together ," claimed Mr.Lule.

 

Coast regional commissioner John Elungata confirms violence extremism to be real in the region calling for peace and security dialogue to end violence extremism.

 

"We have become more precise the way we go ,we read you as tough and that's what guide us ,you know just like you have marked the area ,I have looked at that document it has marked the areas where the groups exist that is where we also forcus, so it's not like we are going in the dark ,what we are doing is very good, it informs what we do but we want to encourage more dialogues, violence extremism is becoming more local it's no longer about someone coming to radicalise youths or to push extremists ajenda it's being done by ourselves, I have just seen it in Lamu county, the people who actually commited this atrocities against fellow citizens are actually locals, "Said the Rc.

 

Promoting the safety of journalists and combatting impunity for those who attack them are central elements within UNESCO 'a support for freedom on all media platforms,,,...the question will also remain to be ,are African governments ready to embrace UNESCO 's efforts to promote safety and security for journalists? When will journalists in Africa have a safe space for their duties,,,,

 

In 2021 approximately 16 journalists in AfrAfrica lost thetheir lives.