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Kenya: DW Journalist Attacked By Kenyan Police At Protest in Nairobi

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4 years ago

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Police fired tear gas canisters at DW’s East Africa correspondent Mariel Müller while she was covering a protest in Nairobi. Amnesty International and the Foreign Press Association of Africa have condemned the attack.

A Deutsche Welle correspondent was attacked by police while covering a demonstration in Nairobi on Saturday.

Kenyan authorities fired tear gas canisters directly at DW’s East Africa correspondent Mariel Müller with one canister grazing her and a second injuring her leg while she was conducting an interview.

‘You just shot me’

Müller was covering a peaceful protest against police brutality and coronavirus lockdown measures at the time of the attack.

“The police observed the first part [of the protest] and then eventually started firing tear gas,” Müller told DW.

After Müller was grazed by a canister, she and her camera crew moved away from their initial position.

After a while, “it appeared as if the situation had calmed down,” said Müller and she began interviewing an older woman taking part in the demonstration.

“We noticed that something was happening. But then we realized it was too late — a shot was fired. I noticed that my leg started hurting and that I’d been hit there,” she said.

The canister was shot from a tear gas launcher.

“It’s not like they just throw [the canister] and then it’s on the ground and rolls somewhere, but it’s really a gun,” she said. “They load the gun with these silver canisters.”