NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 20-The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Audrey Azoulay has called on the Kenyan authorities to investigate the murder of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation video editor Betty Barasa.
Barasa was shot and killed in her house in Ngong on April 7 in an attack by three gunmen. She had left her place of work.
“I condemn the killing of Betty Barasa. I call on the authorities to investigate this crime and determine whether it was linked to Barasa’s profession as a journalist. Gunpoint censorship must not be allowed to undermine journalists’ ability to carry out their work,” said Azoulay in a statement.
UNESCO promotes the safety of journalists through global awareness-raising, capacity building and a range of actions, notably in the framework of the UN plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and Issue of Impunity.
No arrest has been made so far though police now believe the gunmen behind the murder of Barasa were on an elimination mission.
A postmortem on the body of Barasa found out she had a single bullet in her head that was fired in the face.
She died out of excessive bleeding. Barasa was buried last week at her Ngong home, where the incident occurred.
A team of detectives investigating the murder have been visiting the scene but it is not yet clear whether there are any crucial leads found yet.
The detectives have also recorded statements from her husband Geoffrey Barasa, their house help and a friend to Betty identified as Tony Osende.
Osende told police that he was a friend and classmate to Barasa and neighbor in the area. He said they were working on a thesis with the late journalist and that he had hiked a lift to the home before leaving to his house on the fateful night.
He said as soon as they arrived home, they were confronted by a gang of three and forced into the house where he and four others including the husband and three children were subdued for minutes before Barasa was killed.
The investigators were expected to continue to talk to more people of interest including Betty’s colleagues and friends.
They want to know if she had expressed any form of fear to her life and who was or were her friend, the nature of friendship and if she was involved in any business deals.
Detectives handling the matter said they recovered a bullet head from Barasa’s clothes which is undergoing forensic analysis to know if the gun may have been used elsewhere.
The killers were in constant communication with unknown people over the phone during the incident, police said.
They were heavily armed with two AK-47 rifles and a G3 rifle and had subdued other family members before they executed the KBC journalist.
Barasa, 49, who is the head of finance with the National Museums said the gang of three wore the protection gear- a balaclava and gloves and he could only see their eyes.
“Two of them were armed with AK47 rifles and one had a G3. They were wearing industrial gloves and head muffins that you could only see their eyes,” he said.
He said that at some point they grabbed his laptop but returned his wallet, which had an ATM as they demanded money.
“They told me to lift my left hand and they pulled my ring,” he said.
What puzzled Barasa was a remark by one of the thugs who made a call saying they had completed their mission.
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