Maryanne Nyambura: Press freedom still a struggle, much more still needs to be done
Citizen TV reporter Maryanne Nyambura was assaulted by police officers on April 9, 2025 while reporting live. As the world celebrates World Press Freedom Day, she says that journalistic freedom is shrinking.
As the world celebrates World Press Freedom Day, the journalism community in Nakuru County, Kenya, is facing a sobering reality.
At the centre of this reckoning is Maryanne Nyambura, a reporter for Citizen TV, who recently endured a harrowing encounter that highlights the sharp decline in media freedom across the region.
On April 9, 2025, Maryanne and five of her colleagues were violently attacked by police officers while covering the National Drama Festival in Nakuru. The trauma of that day is still fresh.
"My voice is still shaking, not just with fear, but with deep frustration," she says during our interview. "What happened to us isn't isolated - it's part of a dangerous pattern that keeps repeating itself."
Maryanne is one of many journalists in Nakuru who face threats, harassment and even physical assault - often at the hands of the police.
In 2024, MediaMax journalist Catherine Wanjeri was shot three times in the thigh while covering a protest. No arrests have yet been made.
"We always hear condemnations from the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) and the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), but then what?" Maryanne asks. "There is a weak link in enforcement. Nobody is ever held accountable.
Her fears are echoed by memories of the anti-government protests in Azimio in March 2024, when NTV's Eric Isinta was hospitalised after police threw three teargas canisters at a car he and his crew were using to cover the story.
"Every time there's a demonstration, there's a high chance that a journalist will be attacked," Maryanne adds. "That's our working reality now."
But beyond the physical danger, she stresses the psychological toll. "When I feel tension or danger, I just withdraw. It's survival," she admits.
The theme of this year's World Press Freedom Day is "It's time to put AI on the social agenda". Maryanne sees artificial intelligence as a double-edged sword.
"AI can help us tell deeper, data-driven stories. But it can also be weaponised to spread disinformation or even silence journalists," she warns.
The growing hostility has left journalists feeling vulnerable and unsupported. But Maryanne remains committed to the craft and to adapting.