Star photojournalist assaulted, camera seized while covering Ol Kalou polls

Star photographer and journalist Enos Teche was attacked by masked men in Ol Kalou town on Thursday afternoon after violence erupted during the parliamentary by-election.

Voting had largely proceeded peacefully since early morning until a group of masked men arrived in a Prado and fired tear gas near St Joseph's Catholic Comprehensive School polling centre.

A group of residents had briefly barricaded a section of the road leading to the polling station, prompting police to move in.

According to Teche, the masked men alighted from the vehicle, fired shots into the air and lobbed tear gas canisters, sending residents fleeing in different directions.

As the only photographer at the scene, Teche said the men then surrounded him and questioned him before forcefully grabbing his camera.

In the ensuing confrontation, he said they struck him several times on the chest, twisted his hand to the point it was almost dislocated, and fired a tear gas canister at his leg, leaving him injured.

The attack adds to a growing list of incidents in which journalists covering public events have reported harassment, assault or interference while carrying out their duties, raising fresh concerns over press freedom and the safety of media workers in Kenya.