CS Ruku Grilled by NCIC

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has appeared before the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to clarify remarks that had been alleged to be inflammatory.

In a statement on Tuesday, September 1, Ruku said he honoured the summons as part of his responsibility as a public official and out of respect for the Constitution and constitutional bodies.

He explained that his appearance before the commission was intended to provide clarification regarding the remarks in question.

"In fulfilment of my patriotic duty and respect for our Constitution and constitutional bodies, today I appeared before NCIC to clarify my remarks that were alleged to be inflammatory," he said.

Ruku defended his remarks on the political and development history of Mt. Kenya East, arguing that the region had experienced marginalisation for decades despite consistently supporting leaders from Mt. Kenya West.

"It is a fact Mt. Kenya East has been marginalised for six decades while supporting Mt. Kenya West leaders. It is also a fact that Mt. Kenya East has faithfully and unconditionally supported Mt. Kenya West’s presidency bids," he added.

Ruku, however, stressed that the grievances raised by Mt. Kenya East did not amount to a rejection of the Constitution, saying the region and its leaders continued to recognise their constitutional rights to peacefully raise concerns.

"Nevertheless, Mt. Kenya East, its people and leaders respect Kenya’s constitution, and freedoms to assemble and present grievances and petitions peaceably," he further said.

Ruku further rejected any suggestion that the region's demands had threatened national peace or cohesion, maintaining that calls for development and recognition were legitimate grievances arising from what he described as decades of being denied their due.

"We have not breached peace or cohesion in the country by demanding respect and what we are owed as development for the past decades," he concluded.

This comes days after Jubilee Party called on the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to investigate remarks attributed to Nominated MP Joseph Wainaina, warning that such statements could threaten national cohesion.

In a statement on Monday, August 31, Jubilee Secretary General Moitalel Ole Kenta said Kenya must not repeat the events surrounding the 2007/08 post-election violence.

He argued that political rhetoric that targets communities or questions the right of Kenyans to live in particular parts of the country must be addressed before it escalates.

"Fellow Kenyans, our country has been here before. In 2007/08, Kenya descended into a period of violence that left over a thousand of our countrymen and women dead, hundreds of thousands displaced, and communities that had lived side by side for generations turned against one another in the name of politics. We buried our people, we counted our losses, and as a nation we made a solemn vow, Never Again," the statement read.

Ole Kenta noted that telling Kenyans to leave an area because of their political choices amounted to exclusionary rhetoric that could have serious consequences if allowed to take root.

"We say this without equivocation, this is the exact language of exclusion that has, in the past, preceded some of the darkest chapters in our nation's history.

"To suggest, even in jest or in the heat of political mobilization, that any Kenyan does not belong in a part of their own country because of how they vote or where their political loyalties lie, is to plant a seed that this country cannot afford to let take root again," the statement added.

Ole Kenta challenged the NCIC to take action over the remarks, saying the commission was established to address rhetoric that could undermine cohesion and calling for investigations and prosecution where applicable.

"We call upon the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to do its job. The Commission was established precisely to guard against this kind of rhetoric. It cannot afford to be a toothless bystander while public figures test the limits of what incites hatred among our people.

"We demand that the NCIC formally investigate these remarks, and where the law has been broken, that it acts swiftly, transparently, and without fear or favor. We further call on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to be alive to their constitutional mandate," the statement further read.