NTV journalist Kenneth Ruto has been detained at Kabarnet police station since 9 a.m. after being verbally summoned by Baringo county detectives to record a statement about his coverage of the bandit attack at Kapindasum Primary School in Baringo South last Tuesday.
According to official procedure, the legal department of the Nation Media Group said it had not received any written summons from the police.
Mr Ruto appeared before the County Criminal Investigations Officer (CCIO), Mr Julius Muia, on Wednesday morning after being summoned verbally.
Armed criminals staged an attack on Kapindasum Primary School and a nearby General Service Unit (GSU) camp in Baringo South, and the Nation team and other media outlets covered the incident.
During a routine patrol, GSU officers came into contact with armed criminals, sparking a fierce shootout between the two groups.
The bandits advanced to the primary school and also surrounded a nearby GSU camp, resulting in a six-hour shootout before the criminals were repulsed.
The attack forced teachers and students to seek refuge on classroom floors as gunshots filled the air.
The reporter is currently at Kabarnet Police Station, accompanied by members of the Baringo Journalists Association and civil society groups from the region.
The journalist was summoned on Monday to appear at the CCIO’s office on Wednesday morning. The summons’ intentions, however, have yet to be revealed by police.
When journalists from Baringo accompanied their colleague to the CCIO’s office in Kabarnet, the lead detective stated unequivocally that they would not reveal why they summoned Ruto and ordered them out.
“I have summoned the journalist but I am not mandated to tell you why. I am the county’s detective and for this reason, I am doing my work as required by the law. I want the individual I summoned alone unless you have also been served with the summons,” Mr Muia told journalists.