NYT journalist yet to take up Nairobi job even as employer dismisses transfer claims

A New York Times journalist who came under fire over a story on the 14 Riverside attack because of graphic images is yet to take up her new role in Nairobi.

This even as her employer maintained that there have been no changes at their East African bureau.

“The Times remains committed to covering Kenya and East Africa. We are responding to the complaint made to the Media Council concerning the photographs used in our coverage of the terrorist attack.

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“No decisions have been made on the staffing of our Nairobi bureau. However, we would point out again that Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura was not involved in the decision about which photographs to publish. That decision was made by editors in New York,” Ari Isaacman Bevacqua, the NYT Communications Director said in an email to Citizen Digital on Monday evening.

Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura was named the NYT East Africa Bureau Chief in September last year.

Shortly after that, she changed her title on her social media pages to read ‘Incoming East Africa Bureau Chief for the New York Times.’

Her employer also posted an article on their website that said: “Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura, our indispensable London correspondent who has covered Brexit and terror attacks, is heading to Nairobi, Kenya.”

Also Read: New York Times says photo of dead bodies in 14 Riverside attack story will remain

However, following the backlash from Kenyans on Twitter and the Media Council of Kenya over her Riverside attack article, the NYT correspondent recently changed her title.

It now reads: “Foreign Correspondent at The New York Times.” When reached for comment, Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura did not respond to Citizen Digital.

The gory images in the controversial NYT article are yet to be pulled down.