User:Pnmarizan/Francis Nyaruri

Francis Kainda Nyaruri (ca. – January 29, 2009) was a Kenyan freelance journalist who wrote for the private owned publication the Weekly Citizen under the name Mong'are Mokua. Nyaruri's remains were discovered decapitated and profoundly tortured in the Kodera Forest in western Nyanza province January 29, 2009 after being missing since January 15, 2009.

Personal Information
Francis Kainda Nyaruri is survived by his wife Josephine Kwamboka, who identified him at Kissi hospital.

Nyaruri had been threaten by high rank officers after writing stories accusing the officers of fraud, corruption and extortion in a construction project.

Career
Francis Nyaruri was a print reporter for the Weekly Citizen in Kenya. He covered the beat of corruption locally. Nyaruri wrote stories about corrupted local government officials under the alias Mong'are Mokua. Nyaruri had written a series of articles about police malpractice, corruption and extortion. The last article he wrote appeared two day before his disappearance implicated local police in a public transport racket.

Death
On January 15, 2009 Francis Nyaruri was reported missing by his relatives. Nyaruri is believed to have left his residence at about 7:30 am on the morning of January 15 and travelled 30 km to Kisii to purchase construction materials. His wife spoke to him later on January 15. the was the last time he was heard of.

Nyaruri was reportedly threaten by local police as a result of the articles he wrote. Nyaruri's corpse was found with hands tied behind his back, with gashes and decapitated. Nyaruri was profoundly tortured by his captives.

Two suspects were taken into police custody in May of the same year but were later released without explanation.

Context
After Nyaruris murder, it was determined that he was tortured and killed because of his articles on the Weekly Citizen exposing fraudulent police activities. Two suspects were taken in custody in May but were later released without explanation. A team of senior police officers was reportedly sent to Nyamira to investigate the murder.

As of March there was reportedly little progress in the police investigation. On June it was reported that two key witnesses, Nyaruri’s family lawyer and a policeman, had had gone into hiding after receiving death threats. The lawyer had been pushing for the arrest of Nyaruri’s suspected killers; the policeman had been providing protection to the lawyer and had been instrumental in the arrest of two key suspects.

The threats warned them to drop the case. It is suspected that senior policemen from Nyamira may have masterminded the murder and be responsible for attempting to stall the investigation. The police officers responsible for investigating the murder also received repeated threats. One of them is said to have filed a complaint to the police commissioner but this apparently only caused the threats to intensify.

Reactions
In reaction of this murder, being the second murder case of that year, many started questioning the security of journalists in kenya. A letter was written to Excellency President Mwai Kibaki President of Kenya on February 5, 2009 from World Association of Newspapers President Gavin O'Reilly saying "We respectfully call on you to do everything possible to ensure that Mr Nyaruri's killers are quickly identified and brought to justice. We urge you to ensure that those who kill, attack or intimidate journalists can not do so with impunity."

Reporters Without Borders said it was shocked by the murder of Mr. Nyaruri, found dumped in the forests. "We would like above all to express our deep sympathy to the victim's family," Reporters Without Borders said. RSF urged the authorities, including the police chief Larry Kieng, to establish the motive behind the murder and to bring those responsible to justice.

Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the murder of Kenyan journalist Francis Nyaruri and called for an investigation into the killing. “I condemn the murder of Francis Nyaruri,” said the Director-General. “I trust that this crime will be investigated and that its culprits will be brought to trial, not just for the sake of Francis Nyaruri but the sake of democracy and good governance. Journalists like him carry out important, albeit controversial, work that contributes to debate and democracy.”

President of Kenya Honorable Mwai Kibaki C.G.H. M.P and Commissioner of Police Major General Mohamed Hussein Ali, M.G.H.received a letter from the Pen Appeal Center reading "PEN American Center is seriously concerned that Francis Nayuri was killed immediately after being threatened by police, and that he may have been killed for exercising his right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Kenya is a signatory. We therefore urge the Kenyan authorities to conduct a full and impartial investigation into his murder as a matter of urgency, and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice."

Articles found

 * SCOOP INDEPENDENT NEWS (02-08-2009)