By GPC Reporter
The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) will convene media stakeholders in Nairobi on Monday to discuss growing threats to journalists ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The meeting, scheduled to take place at the Sarova Stanley Hotel, will mark the 2026 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists (IDEI), with a focus on strengthening safety and protection mechanisms for journalists during the electoral period.
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The Council says it has documented 45 cases involving attacks against journalists, including physical assaults and threats, as the country moves towards the next General Election.
The rising incidents have raised concerns about the safety of media practitioners and the need for stronger mechanisms to protect journalists while carrying out their professional duties.
The commemoration will be held under the theme, “Enhancing Journalists’ Safety and Protection Mechanisms ahead of the 2027 General Election.”
The Council is expected to bring together government officials, media organisations, journalists’ unions and press freedom advocates to examine ways of preventing attacks, improving response mechanisms and ensuring accountability for crimes committed against media practitioners.
Among the speakers will be Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunications Stephen Isaboke, MCK Chief Executive Officer David Omwoyo, MCK board member Timothy Wanyonyi and Senior Deputy Director in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Jacinta Nyamosi.
Others are Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) Executive Director Queenter Mbori, Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) Secretary-General Eric Oduor, Kenya Editors Guild President Zubeida Kananu and UNESCO consultant Lea Simonini.
A panel discussion titled Tackling Impunity: Exploring Innovative Approaches to Combating Changing Threats Against Journalists will examine the challenges facing journalists and possible interventions.
The panel will include investigative journalist Francis Odee of Citizen TV, AMWIK’s Lilian Museka, International Association of Women in Radio and Television chairperson Josephine Karani, KUJ’s Oduor and MCK Complaints Commission Registrar Eric Ngaira.
It will also feature Josephine Karani, the chairperson of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT), while MCK Manager of Media Monitoring and Research Dinnah Ondari will moderate the discussion.
The planned meeting comes amid renewed warnings from press freedom organisations over the growing risks faced by journalists covering political activities in Kenya.
In August 2026, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported that at least eight journalists were assaulted while covering an opposition rally in Homa Bay on August 16. Media vehicles were also vandalised, while some journalists lost their equipment.
In May, Amnesty International Kenya raised concerns over attacks, intimidation and obstruction of journalists covering political and public events in different parts of the country.
The organisation warned that such incidents could encourage self-censorship and undermine media freedom as the country approaches the 2027 elections.
The concerns reflect a wider global challenge. According to UNESCO, 189 journalists were killed in violent attacks in 2024 and 2025, with 67 per cent of the deaths occurring in conflict zones.
The organisation further reported that the global impunity rate for killings of journalists had risen to 86 per cent, meaning nearly nine out of every 10 cases remained judicially unresolved.
The United Nations (UN) has designated November 2 as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists to promote accountability for attacks against media practitioners. The day was proclaimed in 2013 following the killing of two French journalists in Mali.
The Nairobi commemoration will begin at 8am and will also be streamed live on the Media Council of Kenya’s YouTube platform.
