Police Shooting At Me- CNN's Larry Madowo [VIDEO]

Amidst police officers blatantly using excessive force on journalists covering the 'Nane Nane' protests, Cable News Network (CNN) International correspondent, Larry Madowo, was shot at by police officers in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).

During his live reporting of the protests, a police car full of officers drove past him before an explosion into teargas happened a few metres behind him before he stopped in his tracks.

As he turned to get a glimpse of events behind him, Madowo cried out sharply while clutching to the side of his neck. "That was aimed directly at me," he cried out, adding "he's aiming directly at me".

The camera panned to a police car which had stopped adjacent to Wabera Street. 

Here is the video:

BREAKING:

Police fired teargas at protesters in Nairobi's city center today as Kenya's youth returned to the streets for an eighth week of demonstrations.

CNN's @LarryMadowo was reporting from the ground when federal police fired two tear gas canisters in his direction ???? pic.twitter.com/lrZfxB5X3N — CNN International PR (@cnnipr) August 8, 2024

"He's shooting directly at me," he cried out again. "Why are you shooting at me? Why are you shooting at me?!" as the police car drove off.

Madowo then reported that the police had shot two teargas canisters directly at him while he was looking at them at close range. He noted that he was not badly hurt but the fragments had hit his cheek and "they appeared to have missed."

"Kenyan police targeted me directly today. I was hit by a fragment after officers aimed at me and my CNN team at least twice while covering protests in Nairobi," he wrote on X.

This was not the only incidence of police brutality on journalists covering the protests. In a video seen by Viral Tea, police could be seen forcefully confronting another journalist carrying a tripod, with one of them inflicting a violent kick on him from behind as other reporters were heard pleading for mercy.

The excesses during the protests have sparked uproar with journalists accusing police of brutalizing them even while being clearly identified through press cards and 'PRESS' labelled jackets, a matter which forced them to call protests of their own.

Cecilia Ngunjiri, a journalist covering Nane Nane protests, was reportedly injured by a police officer in Nairobi City. Citizen TV journalist Stephen Letoo, who was also covering the protests, lamented that the officers had teargassed journalists and shared a clip of his teary eyes.

"How Police today have turned to harm journalists at the CBD is totally unacceptable. Several scribes injured," he stated while tagging the Media Council of Kenya for action.

Earlier, members of the Fourth Estate staged a spontaneous protest of their own. A video shared by independent media outlet, Africa Uncensored on Thursday, August 8 showed crowds building up outside Nation Centre along Kimathi Street in Nairobi, uttering protest cries against police officers in the opposite direction.

Despite the officers dispersing them with teargas, the protesting media workers kept charging at them, armed with their unbreakable wit and will as well as phones and cameras to document the entire proceedings.