Karanja Kibicho: No politician will be arrested for hate speech, for now

Police and sleuths from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) will not arrest any politician for hate-speech offences until after the elections.

Interior Principal Secretary, Karanja Kibicho, said that the government will not spend resources chasing after politicians who deliberately break the law in order to win sympathy votes from unsuspecting Kenyans.

Dr Kibicho who was speaking during a morning interview with a local radio station, said the government, under the Ministry of Interior, was out to ensure security maintained around the country during the electioneering period.

“We have seen a section of politicians openly teasing the authorities and breaking the law so that they can get arrested. The Interior Ministry will not massage their egos,” he said.

The PS asked politicians to stop inciting members of the public to violence by spreading hate amongst Kenyans.

According to Dr Kibicho, such habits will not be tolerated and action will eventually be taken against the perpetrators.

He said some of the politicians were on a mission to cause chaos so that they get arrested with the aim of boosting their popularity.

Dr Kibicho said that the Ministry will ignore such politicians but will ensure that they are arrested once the elections are done.

Already, a number of politicians including Meru Senator Mithika Linturi and East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Florence Jematia have been questioned by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) over political remarks they have been making.

The PS also rubbished recent claims by Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua that he was using taxpayers’ money to fund some politicians in the country.

Speaking during a rally held in Kirinyaga County, Gachagua claimed that Dr Kibicho was hiding inside some hotel and giving some politicians money to oppose Deputy President William Ruto’s allies.

“They claim that I have money stashed in cartons in a room within my office. I invite them to my office to share the funds,” he said, adding that money must be accounted for by the national budget and must be approved by the National Assembly.

He also asked politicians to stop mentioning him and Interior CS Dr Fred Matiang’I when they are doing their campaigns and instead sell their agenda to the people.