OL KALOU, Nyandarua- Two Nation Media Group journalists were attacked by armed men wearing balaclavas while covering the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election at A.C. Primary School polling station on Thursday morning.
According to Nation Media Group, the attackers descended on an NTV news crew while they were on duty, assaulting an NTV cameraman with a stun gun before beating him and seizing his camera.
The reporter accompanying him was also robbed of his mobile phone at gunpoint.
The incident occurred as voting continued across the constituency, where thousands of residents turned out from as early as 6 a.m. to cast their ballots in one of Kenya’s most closely watched parliamentary by-elections.
The attack comes despite heightened security measures put in place for the by-election.
More than 1,000 police officers, backed by specialized units including the General Service Unit (GSU), Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), were deployed to secure polling stations, election officials, voters and election materials throughout the exercise.
The Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election has attracted intense national attention, with the race largely seen as a contest between the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP).
The campaign period was marked by allegations of political violence, voter intimidation and electoral malpractices, prompting repeated appeals from the IEBC, human rights groups and security agencies for peaceful elections.
Voting is expected to continue until 5 p.m., after which counting will begin at individual polling stations before results are transmitted to the constituency tallying centre.