PRESS RELEASE/UPDATE - KENYA

7 April 2005

Judge acquits editor of criminal charges

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

**Update IFEX alerts of 3 October and 30 September 2003**

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 5 April 2005 CPJ press release:

KENYA: Judge acquits editor of criminal charges and creates new
interpretation for media law

New York, April 5, 2005 - The managing editor of the Nairobi-based East
African Standard's Sunday edition was acquitted of criminal charges
yesterday. The charges against David Makali, pending since 2003, stemmed
from an investigative article about the alleged murder of Dr. Crispin
Odhiambo Mbai, a key player in Kenya's constitutional reform process.

Nairobi Chief Magistrate Aggrey Muchelule stated in his judgment that the
case against Makali and John Chemweno, a police officer who was also
charged, had not been established by the prosecution, according to an
article in yesterday's East African Standard.

In September 2003, two weeks after Mbai's death, the newspaper published
leaked excerpts of confessions made by suspects in the case, which was
alleged by some to be a political assassination. As a result of the story,
Makali was detained for two days and charged with stealing a police
videotape that contained the confessions; the charge was later changed to
theft of a copy of a tape and handling stolen property. The editor and two
other journalists from the Standard say they were questioned by police and
repeatedly asked to reveal their sources, which they refused to do.

Makali and his newspaper's management have consistently denied that he ever
had a police videotape, claiming that the paper published its information
from a transcript of recorded confessions. Makali pleaded not guilty to the
charges, and told CPJ today that the prosecution was never able to prove the
existence of a videotape.

The judge also said that "in any case, the fruits of any investigation which
are in possession of the police are not their property but that of the
public," according to news reports. To convict Makali, he ruled, would
contravene constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression. Local
journalists welcomed this interpretation, as they have pushed for a separate
law mandating free access to official information for years. A draft Freedom
of Information bill is currently pending before the Kenyan parliament,
according to local news reports.

"We welcome this verdict and the interpretation it provides in favor of
press freedom," said Ann Cooper, executive director of CPJ. "We hope this
verdict will help to ensure that all Kenyan journalists are free to report
on matters of public interest without fear of reprisal."

For more information about Makali's case, see CPJ's alert at
http://www.cpj.org/news/2003/Kenya29sept03na.html

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.cpj.org.

For further information, contact Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford
or Research Associate Alexis Arieff at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], Internet: http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this press release/update is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
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