Court discharges minister Mwakwere of hate speech claim

Environment minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere has been discharged of hate speech accusation following reconciliation between him and a Muslim group.

Senior principal magistrate Lucy Nyambura gave the conditional discharge order under Section 87 A of the criminal procedure code.

The section allows for Mr Mwakwere's re-arrest and prosecution.

The minister and the The Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) reconciled over the matter.

On Saturday, Mr Mwakwere apologised for making inflammatory remarks during the heated campaigns for the Matuga parliamentary by-election.

He admitted making utterances that could be viewed as hate speech while campaigning in his constituency on July 1, 2010 and asked for forgiveness from the people of the Coast Province and Kenyans at large.

"On deep reflection, I hereby tender my most sincere apology to all the people of Kenya for the remarks that I made,” he said at a press conference in Mombasa.

Mr Mwakwere has been fighting to hold on to his Cabinet position following a decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions to charge him with hate speech. (READ: Minister loses bid to halt hate speech charges)

The minister said he regretted that his remarks were viewed as likely to cause animosity between certain communities living in the region.

Muhuri had lodged a complaint with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) accusing him of hate speech during the campaigns.