Less than a day after the BBC was forced to cancel the public screening of its explosive documentary Blood Parliament, the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) decided to speak out. The cancellation, widely seen as a result of pressure from powerful government officials, sparked public debate and concern over the state of press freedom in the country.
In their statement, KUJ stood firmly with the BBC, praising the media house for taking a bold step in revealing police brutality and the unjust killings of innocent young people during the anti-Finance Bill protests held last year.
KUJ Secretary General Erick Oduor did not hold back. He said, “The Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) would like to congratulate the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for its bold journalism that exposed police brutality and killings of innocent young Kenyans during the protests against the Finance Bill last year.”
A press release from the Kenya Union of Journalists.
The union described the documentary as the kind of journalism the world needs today reporting that holds those in power accountable and exposes the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. According to KUJ, the Blood Parliament documentary confirmed the media’s critical role in keeping the government and other arms of power in check.
“This is journalism that the world needs today to hold authorities to account for their actions,” the statement read. It continued,
“The Blood Parliament documentary demonstrates the media’s role as the Fourth Estate that keeps other Estates in check, especially the government, to respect the rule of law.”
The union also responded to criticism coming from politicians who were seemingly unhappy with the BBC’s coverage. Without naming names, KUJ hinted that those trying to silence the truth would eventually face the consequences of their actions. “We have noted that a section of the political class is not happy with this excellent piece of journalism, but it’s only a matter of time before the reality hits them,” they said.
The union insisted that Kenyans must not pretend that nothing happened on June 25 last year, especially given the scale of violence and the deaths that occurred in Nairobi and other parts of the country.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who was present in Parliament on the day of the protests, also came out strongly in defence of the BBC documentary.
“Speaking as someone present in Parliament that day, the events depicted in the Blood Parliament documentary by BBC Africa Eye are not fabrications,” Sifuna said.
“They happened. We all saw it live and on our screens. We must encourage these stories to be told from all angles for the sake of truth and justice.” He further stated that those attacking the documentary were struggling with their own guilt and had no valid argument against the facts shown.
“Those who are uncomfortable with this are wrestling with their own consciences, and we cannot help them with that,” he added.
The BBC documentary shed light on the hidden hand in the crackdown on demonstrators during the Gen Z protests. It raised serious questions about the possible involvement of specialised security units, possibly even members of the Kenya Defence Forces, who are not usually involved in crowd control operations.
This added a troubling layer to an already serious human rights concern. One of the most striking moments in the film was when Allan Ademba, a young journalist, was seen running through danger to help injured youth during the chaos.
His bravery stood out as a symbol of the resilience and courage that many young Kenyans displayed that day.
In the aftermath of the protests, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) confirmed that at least 60 people had died. So far, 22 investigations have been concluded, with 36 still ongoing and two already in court. These numbers alone show the seriousness of what happened and explain why many Kenyans are not ready to move on without answers.
The effort to stop the screening of the Blood Parliament documentary has only strengthened the public’s interest in its contents and deepened the conversation about justice, accountability, and freedom of the press in Kenya.
