A day after the arbitrary arrest of Daily Nation’s parliamentary reporter, John Ngirachu, who was released yesterday following a public outcry, the police is now looking for Standard Group’s Parliamentary reporter Alphonse Shiundu.

Alphonse Shiundu is being sought on the same grounds as Ngirachu with regards to a story he wrote that was published on the Daily Nation touching on the Interior Ministry about questionable tenders.

During his arrest, the Directorate Criminal Investigation officers and the interior CS Joseph Nkaissey asked Ngirachu to disclose his sources of information.

The Media Council of Kenya condemned the act, saying that it was the highest form of impunity and maintained that arresting journalists over critical articles is against the spirit of Media Freedom and Access to Information.

“As the body charged with ensuring the protection of the rights and privileges of journalists in the performance of their duties, the Council is particularly concerned with  the increasing number of journalists facing threats, harassment and in extreme circumstances murdered in the course of duty in Kenya,” Dr Haroun Mwangi the CEO of the council said in a statement, adding that such acts are an affront to the Freedom of the Media and Freedom of Expression as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya, trigger self-censorship in media and is contrary to international norms and standards.

Before he was arrested Ngirachu had tweeted that an officer from the CID was calling all journalists who had reported on the auditor general’s queries over sh 3.8b at the interior ministry so that they could disclose their source of the information published and this explains why Alphonce is being sought as well.