Kenyan leaders told not to stir unrest
Commission boss Mzalendo Kibunja said at a press conference on Friday that leaders should not use the process to create ethnic animosity. PhotoSAMMY KIMATU
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission has warned politicians against creating instability when the International Criminal Court releases a list of post-election violence suspects next week.
Commmision chairman Mzalendo Kibunja said leaders should not use the process of bringing justice to victims of post-election violence to create ethnic animosity to gain political mileage.
Speaking in his office in Nairobi, Dr Kibunja said Kenya had come a long way to restore peace and stability after the unprecedented 2007-2008 post-poll violence, which he said was the most “deadly and destructive violence ever seen in Kenya”.
“This is a time to heal internal dissension and develop consensus. We therefore urge every leader in this country to approach the ICC matter with sobriety and show clear leadership in the quest for sustainable cohesion and peaceful coexistence for the sake of the country,” he said.
He blamed the introduction of multiparty politics in 1992 for the rise in ethnic and tribal clashes, saying “conflicts acquired much wider political and ideological dimensions”.
