On Impunity and Hate-speech

There are clear legal prohibitions and penalties for the use of hate speech and for incitement to violence in sections 13 and 62 of the National Cohesion Integration (NCI) Act 2008: yet as a country we are still to the see the government use the law to prosecute a single case of either. The reality is that the government has been lax when it comes to prosecuting or even condemning the use of hate-speech, particularly where high level politicians are involved. So lax, in fact, that since the enactment of the NCI Act in 2008, and several recommendations for prosecution by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), there has been exactly zero prosecutions for hate-speech or incitement to violence. It is not difficult to draw a direct correlation between the impunity and lack of accountability by politicians when it comes to hate speech and incitement to violence and the government’s laxity in prosecuting such crimes.

Less than a week since charges for hate speech and incitement against Environment Minister and MP for Matuga, Chirau Ali Mwakwere were dropped; And less than a week since Galole MP, Dhadho Godhana, was relieved of his duties as a assistant Minister for similar allegations of incitement in the Tana River; we see another politician, Assistant Minister for Water, MP for Embakasi and aspirant for the position of Governor of Nairobi, Ferdinand Waititu, make blatantly incendiary comments against members of the Maasai community and in the presence of the Commissioner for Police no less. Seriously it’s hard not to draw a direct correlation between impunity for hate speech and incitement and the government’s laxity in prosecuting/condemning the same.

In a statement the Embakasi MP is quoted as saying “Tunasema hiyo Wamaasi wote hatuwataki hapa Kayole…wamaasai wote ni lazima waondoke ni wa Tanzania na hawana vitambulisho.” In a separate news source he is quoted as stating that all Maasai should be sacked from employment with immediate effect.

Section 13 of the NCI Act criminalises the use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, intended to stir up ethnic hatred, or having regard to all the circumstances, is likely to stir up ethnic hatred. While Section 62 of the same Act criminalises “any person who utters words intended to incite feelings of contempt, hatred, hostility, violence or discrimination against any person, group or community on the basis of ethnicity or race.”

Even with a narrow interpretation the utterances by the Embakasi MP appear to fall within the scope covered by Sections 13 and 62 of the NCI Act. Not only were the utterances made by the MP threatening, abusive, and insulting with a great likelihood of stirring ethic hatred but on the MP’s utterances could also be said to be intended to, or be very likely to incite feelings of contempt, hostility, violence against the Maasai community. However the MPs guilt or innocence is for the courts to determine.

Yesterday the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, ordered the arrest of the Embakasi MP on charges of hate speech and incitement to violence. In response the Embakasi MP moved to court in attempt to block his arrest and prosecution and has followed his attempt to block the charges with an apology for his remarks (Probably in the hope that his case will follow a trajectory similar to the one that resulted in the dismissal of similar charges against Environment Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere). In many ways this latest incident of alleged incitement and use hate-speech by a high-level politician is a litmus test of the government’s ability and political will to deal seriously with cases hate speech and incitement. It is also a test for the electorate, after all the Embakasi MP, will be seeking our vote for Governor of Nairobi in the next general election.

Posted by Mzalendo Editor on Sept. 28, 2012

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