Raila Blamed For Rising Political Tension In Kenya

By Samuel Ouma [caption id="attachment_104195" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Samuel Kobia, NCIC Chair (In the middle)[/caption] Kenya's National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has attributed the escalating political tension to the opposition leader Raila Odinga. The NCIC head Samuel Kobia said at a press conference on the state of peace and unity in the nation following the 2022 general election that the rallies and protests being organized by Odinga run the risk of not only polarizing the country but also bringing it to its knees. "The rallies that were held recently saw a spike in hate speech and misinformation, a move likely to get out of hand if unchecked. In January alone, there were 10 hate speech cases and 20 misinformation cases had been recorded and are being investigated," said Kobia. Kobia urged Odinga to stop all the planned political rallies for the sake of the country’s peace. At the same time, he warned politicians against spreading hate that can lead to ethnic animosity. “Leaders who speak at these political rallies must be aware that they will be held personally responsible for their utterances while at political rallies. This is the stance which the commission has taken and will execute without fear or favor,” he added. “As NCIC we shall endeavour to ensure that Kenya remains united, peaceful and cohesive to attain a just and equitable society living in peace, unity and dignity.” On August 9, 2022, general polls, the NCIC boss said it was a peaceful election compared to the previous one.