At Least 50 To Be Prosecuted Before August Polls Over Incitement Charges,Says DPP

MOMBASA,Kenya, Feb, 17 – The Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji has issued a stern warning against Kenyans particularly those in the political class from spewing seeds of discord while inciting civilians to violence.

Speaking during the graduation of 110 youth from vulnerable communities who acquired business skills training at the Kenya Methodist University KEMU Mombasa campus, Haji said that several persons accused with incitement charges have already been prosecuted amidst further investigations.

At least 50 people are expected to be prosecuted before the August polls.

“We have already taken action on most of them that have come to our attention and we are in court prosecuting some of them and some investigations are not yet complete,” said DPP Noordin Haji.

Kenyans have meanwhile been urged to be at the forefront of the fight against such vices by reporting cases of incitement to violence in order to ensure a peaceful electioneering period.

“It can not be that everybody is asking us are we prepared, the question is also as Kenyans what are we going to do and how prepared are we to ensure we are not incited by politicians and that we are not taken advantage of?” Posed Hjai who further said that,”Our message really is it starts with you. If you as Kenyans accept not be used negatively then we are going to have a peaceful election. We should agree that we are going to compete and those competing either there will be a winner or loser,” he said.

Meanwhile members of the media have also been urged to report cases of incitement by availing evidence of such instances since journalist often capture such utterances while in the line of duty with their cameras.

“The challenge we have is that it takes time and citizens do not want to testify,,,also members of the press do not want to testify since you are the ones that record these instances.. We encourage journalists to help us so as to bring respect to this country,” said Haji.

“Anyone who is inciting Kenyans particularly during the elections period will face the full force of the law,” said Hussein Khalid Executive Director,, HAKI Africa.

During the graduation ceremony of the110 youth, Haji alongside other policy leaders urged youth to use their education as a solid foundation for innovation and developing new solutions that contribute to economic development and nation building. 

The project is funded by Act! under Resilience Peace and Stability project. The objective of the project is to curb violent extremism among youth in Mombasa.

Meanwhile the ODPP has raised an alarm over the increased number of cars of violence meted on women seeking elective positions with the country’s top prosecutor set to enforce guidelines that will counter violence against women.