Security personnel working for Kettle Bar and Grill beat up and injured journalists who had accompanied government officers during a raid on Friday night.
The National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) had invited journalists to accompany its officers for a crackdown targeting entertainment joints that sell shisha to to their clients.
Kenya became the fourth country in East Africa to prohibit shisha, after Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda in 2017.
But even after the ban, shisha is still widely sold in the country, especially at nightclubs, and is popular among socialites and sportspersons.
On Friday, NACADA invited journalists from leading media houses as it raided Kettle Bar located in Lavington, Nairobi on what was supposed to be a routine operation. The raid was led by NACADA Chief Executive Anthony Omerikwa.
However upon seeing cameras, bouncers from the club immediately descended on the journalists with kicks and blows.
Among those who were injured was KBC journalist Jane Kibira, Nation Media Group photographer Boniface Bogita, Standard Media Group Boniface Okendo and videographer Francis Odee.
Officers from the Kileleshwa Police station where the incident was reported by the NACADA chief executive officer quickly responded and apprehended the bouncers who were hiding in the toilets.
A knife which is believed to have been used to stab KBC journalist Jane Kibira was also found on the scene.
