Political leaders who will be found guilty of inciting Kenyans to violence ahead of the 2022 General Election will not be allowed to travel outside the country.
This is after the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) on Tuesday, June 15, said leaders who will be found guilty will be denied travel document including Visa to Europe and North America.
“If we do not give them visas, then they will behave. More so, those who incite violence should not be allowed to go to Europe or North America,” NCIC chairman Samuel Kobia said.
Speaking during the launch of the IEBC Strategic Plan (2020-2024) at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi, Kobia said he is in talks with about 15 ambassadors over the matter.
According to Kobia, many cases of incitement are recorded during the campaign period where leaders use their vernacular language when they want to make statements that may provoke hostility.
However, he warned the leaders saying that the commission has deployed a robust detection, reporting and investigation mechanism to nab such hatemongers.
“The commission has established a portal to monitor social media for detection of offences under the NCI Act,” he said.
The commission further hinted at launching a strategic plan that will ensure peace and harmony before, during and after the 2022 General Election.
In January, the cohesion commission unveiled a plan to curb hate speech and incitement ahead of the BBI referendum and 2022 election campaigns.
It is reported that Kenya has recorded increased cases of hate speech, incitement and political intolerance and it is projected that the menace could more than double ahead of the next General Election if the relevant departments will not step up intervention measures in advance.
The commission has handled 434 hate speech cases since the 2017 General Election out of which 185 cases were reported in 2017 alone, 85 in 2018, 75 in 2019 and 86 in the years 2020.