NCIC probes Gachagua, two CSs, seven others over hate speech

In a joint statement issued on July 28 with the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK), the commission said its Investigations and Compliance Department was conducting independent probes into remarks attributed to the individuals, warning that no person was beyond the reach of the law where credible allegations arose.

Those named are Gachagua, Cabinet Secretaries Aden Duale and Geoffrey Ruku, Busia Governor Paul Nyongesa Otuoma, Mandera Deputy Governor Ali Maalim Mohamud, Sirisia MP John Waluke, and Wanjiku Muhia, David Gikaria, Tipape Naini Musa and Dr Dennis Adison Ouma.

The commission stressed that the investigations were being undertaken strictly in accordance with due process, and that all those under probe retained their full rights under the Constitution, including the presumption of innocence, pending the conclusion of the process.

"No individual, regardless of office or standing, is beyond the reach of the law where credible allegations of hate speech or ethnic incitement arise," the statement read.

NCIC said it exercised its investigative and enforcement functions independently under the National Cohesion and Integration Act, 2008, and was guided solely by the law and the evidence before it, without political direction, favour or interference.

The commission cautioned against any narrative seeking to assign collective guilt on the basis of ethnicity, religion or region, insisting that crime was committed individually and remained a personal responsibility.

"No community, region, or group should be held collectively accountable for the alleged conduct of an individual," it said, calling on other law enforcement agencies to accord the matters the seriousness they deserved so that impunity did not take root in the country's political culture.

The statement followed a consultative meeting between the two institutions, during which faith leaders conveyed goodwill messages to the newly appointed NCIC chairman, Bishop Dr Kepha Omae, and urged decisive, even-handed action against hate speech, ethnic mobilisation, political incitement and the weaponisation of social media.

Both bodies said they were witnessing a troubling rise in political intolerance across counties, airwaves and social media platforms, warning that language was increasingly being used to dehumanise opponents and cast entire communities as adversaries.

"Hate speech is not free speech. It is an assault on human dignity and on the constitutional order that binds this nation together," the statement read, adding that Kenya had walked this road before and the cost was remembered too well to be repeated.

The NCIC and IRCK said they had agreed to deepen collaboration in several priority areas, including strengthening real-time monitoring and early-warning systems for hate speech in coordination with the National Police Service, promoting conflict-sensitive media reporting, developing peace pledges and cohesion protocols for political rallies, and constituting national and county-level mediation teams.

Other measures include reviving multi-stakeholder platforms such as the UWIANO Platform for Peace, expanding county-level interfaith networks, disseminating peace messages in places of worship, and establishing peace clubs in learning institutions sponsored by religious bodies.

The two institutions issued a pointed appeal to political leaders, urging them to compete for votes rather than for the destruction of their opponents' dignity, and to refrain from mobilising and deploying goons during political engagements.

They also called on young people to reject recruitment into the work of division, and on all citizens to report hate speech and refuse to amplify it.

"Kenya's unity is non-negotiable," the statement said, warning that proactive and coordinated action was needed to reduce the risk of violence and deliver a peaceful, inclusive and credible electoral process in 2027.