Larry Madowo claims a Nairobi politician paid goons to have him attacked
Larry Madowo claims a Nairobi politician paid goons to have him attacked
CNN International Correspondent Larry Madowo has claimed that a Nairobi politician offered money to hired “goons” to assault him during his coverage of anti-government protests.
In a video on his social media pages on Monday, July 7, Madowo alleged that the attackers were promised a bonus to target him specifically during the demonstrations.
“A Nairobi politician has offered paid goons an extra Ksh100,000 if they attack me while covering the protests; beat me up, smash our equipment. They confessed that on camera because they were not fully paid for the last protests,” he said.
Madowo also decried online campaigns targeting him from certain government-aligned voices, however, insisting that he will not be intimidated.
“Some pro-government accounts on social media are calling for me to be arrested for ‘inciting’ people to violence even though all we have done is report what’s going on, calling out police brutality and showing people the truth. We will not be intimidated, journalism is not a crime,” he added.
This is not the first time Madowo has come under fire for his coverage of anti-government demonstrations.
During a press briefing held on Friday, June 27, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen criticized the CNN correspondent, accusing him of consistently portraying Kenya in a negative light on the international stage.
“Some of the reporters are so happy, they think they have achieved because they are being cheered. So they think it is very nice to come and report about your country negatively,” he said.
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Earlier in April 2024, when Murkomen was still serving as Transport Cabinet Secretary, he also took issue with Madowo’s reporting on infrastructure at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
He condemned the journalist’s video showing leaking roofs at the airport, dismissing it as sensationalism.
“I saw Larry taking videos at the airport. I was laughing because Larry was with us in the country for the last 50 years when that airport was like that. Suddenly because he lives in ‘majuu’ his eyes are open and realizes that there is no shade when you exit JKIA. It is not news that JKIA does not have a canopy for shielding passengers, it is a fact.
“I want to tell Kenyans that by the time we are going to the next elections, we will have a new terminal at least complete or almost complete that will make JKIA a more competitive airport with facilities that are enviable and make us an aviation hub,” he said.
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