Three years later, Citizen TV found itself in a position where an apology was warranted to the GSU officer who had been featured in the exposé covered by investigative journalist Purity Mwambia who is currently in exile.
On Sunday, December 3, Jeff Koinange and Victoria Rubadiri as well as Rashid Abadalla and Victoria Rubadiri were obligated to issue an apology to General Service Unit (GSU) officer Bakari Juma Mwanauli live on Citizen TV. The apology stemmed from a story aired in 2020 that exposed how certain travelers had evaded restrictions on movement in and out of Nairobi during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The reportes on behave of Citizen TV said they had no intention of giving the officer—who was at the time stationed at the Rironi roadblock—a bad image.
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In the segment covered by former reporter Purity Mwambia, titled "Virus Safaris," the GSU officer was depicted interacting with various motorists at the Rironi roadblock.
Mwambia narrated and documented the entire experience as she journeyed from Nairobi to Eldoret, maneuvering through various roadblocks and police checks along the way. This occurred despite former President Uhuru Kenyatta's imposition of travel restrictions aimed at containing the virus.
She exposed the operations of a driver who collaborated with multiple individuals to navigate through the roadblocks, particularly at Mai Mahiu, where the car was driven past the police by another person.
However, Mwambia found herself compelled to board a matatu to Eldoret as the driver was intent on picking up additional passengers from Kisumu to return to Nairobi.
"In our publication on July 5, 2020, at 9 pm titled 'Virus Safaris' we had a story touching one Mr Bakari Juma Mwanauli, a member of the National Police Services (GSU) then stationed at the Rironi roadblock.
We would like to address the concern that the story may have unintentionally depicted Mr. Bakari in a negative light, which was not our intention at all.
We do apologize for any inconvenience which we might have caused as the result of the said publication," both Jeff and Rubadiri stated.
