Journalists Caught in Crossfire of Kenya Smack Down

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 13, 2007— -- The first lady of Kenya, Lucy Kibaki, slapped an official across the face in front of hundreds of guests and journalists at a public event Wednesday. But there will be no film at 11 of this most undiplomatic incident.

In fact, there's not a single photo or YouTube video to show. Why? Because security officials confiscated the cameras of journalists at the event, forcing them to erase all footage of what's being called "the slap heard around the world."

"It's not everyday that the first lady slaps someone in public," said Joseph Odindo, group managing editor of Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper. "But it was a public event. Everyone saw it. Even without pictures we are still able to describe what happened."

According to the Daily Nation and other local media, the slap occurred at a Kenyan Independence Day celebration after the unnamed official introduced Mrs. Kibaki by the name of "Wambui," who is widely believed in Kenya to be President Mwai Kibaki's second wife.

In front of diplomats, journalists and hundreds of guests, Mrs. Kibaki reportedly stood up, walked across the stage and slapped the master of ceremonies before he finished his introduction speech.

Then, according to local media, the president's security agents gathered all the journalists and forced them to delete any digital photographs and erase all video footage of the incident, an action Odindo called "outrageous."

"Taking our film is a serious violation of our freedom of press," Odindo told ABC News. Odindo said the Nation Media Group, which owns the Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper, has filed a formal complaint with the country's Media Council, an advisory board monitoring the Kenyan government's relations with journalists.

"We think it's an abuse of power by the security officers. It happened in full view of the guests and we definitely had the right to be there and film it," Odindo says.

The incident was not the first time Mrs. Kibaki has been criticized for using violence and squelching the press. In 2005, she stormed Nation Media Group offices with her bodyguards and demanded that a reporter who had written a negative article about her be arrested.