IPOA to Investigate Seven Officers Over Journalist Odee Francis’s Arrest

Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) plans to question at least seven officers over the alleged manhandling and arrest of Citizen TV journalist Odee Francis during protests against rising fuel prices in Nairobi on October 20, 2026. Those expected to be questioned include Central Police Station OCPD Patrick Gogo, OCS Joab Onyapidi and five other officers. Francis says he repeatedly showed his journalist’s badge but was arrested, beaten and taken to the station, where he was briefly detained before the OCPD intervened and secured his release. The Crime Journalists Association of Kenya condemned the incident and called for those responsible to be held accountable.