Cohesion body grills Jumwa, Korane in hate speech claims
National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) yesterday grilled Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa and Garissa Governor Ali Korane over utterances they recently made, bordering on hate speech.
Jumwa was grilled over alleged disparaging remarks she made during the recent Msambweni by-election campaigns aimed at Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) secretary-general Edwin Sifuna.
Korane was on the other hand grilled over remarks he made and which are believed to have bordered on ethnic incitement in relation to the Isiolo-Garissa border conflict.
Speaking moments after being grilled Jumwa apologised over the insulting remarks she made against Sifuna.
“I welcome the decision taken by my brother to apologise and I forgive him. I wish to also extend my apologies to anyone who I offended in the grueling campaigns.
However, I want to make it clear that such remarks against women should not be accepted,” said Jumwa.
While appearing before the commission on Monday, Sifuna offered to do 50 hours of community service to show remorse for his utterances against Jumwa.
On Monday, Sifuna said his choice of words in Msambweni were graphic and socially unacceptable.
“People who have had a higher expectation of me were let down. I understand their outrage and apologise for letting them down. I could have passed my message in a better way,” he said.
He said NCIC boss Samuel Kobia had asked for another meeting with him to discuss the matter.
“The commission’s chair will issue a comprehensive statement about the whole issue.
I will have another meeting with him. As an elder, he probably wants to give me some words of advice,” he said.
However, said NCIC seems to apply double standards in executing its mandate.
“Some people will say things and nothing is done about it, but when we react in equal measure, we become a target.
There are very dirty words that have been targeted at our party leader and nothing seems to be done,” he said.
On Korane, Kobia said the commission had resolved to conduct a peaceful rally in early January to reconcile communities from the two counties.
NCIC accuses Korane of insinuating that the contested areas belong to the Somali community and not Boranas when he addressed the public after seven people were killed during skirmishes along the common border between the two counties.
Defending himself, Korane said he was misquoted, maintaining that it was always his wish that the two communities co-exist peacefully.
“Our intention is to see these communities live together even over 100 years. As leaders we have been tasked to ensure they live harmoniously,’ he said.
Kobia called on politicians to exercise restraint when making public utterances.
“Our commission to ensure we decorum in this country. Politicians should know that we are monitoring them closely and soon we will be establishing a list of shame to all those who have been propagating hate messages,” he said.
