Mwakwere on hate watchlist

Environment Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere will be under watch for a year, even after a court’s decision to drop hate speech charges against him, it emerged on Wednesday. Read (Court discharges minister Mwakwere of hate speech claim)

The Matuga MP salvaged his Cabinet post and freedom by signing a peace agreement with his accusers.

However, he remains within the shadows of the criminal charges he faced.

An agreement he signed with the Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) lobby group requires him to watch his tongue, publicly apologise to Kenyans and commit to preaching peace amongst Coastal communities from now henceforth.

The charges arose from remarks the minister made as he campaigned in a by-election in his constituency in July 2010.

Mr Mwakwere had lost the seat in a petition and he was fighting to regain it.

Following the remarks, Muhuri lodged a complaint with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission which investigated and recommended that the minister be charged.

The Director of Public Prosecutions moved against Mr Mwakwere but conditionally withdrew the charges following the reconciliation.

On Wednesday, NCIC said it will be watching alongside Muhuri and “should there be a breach in the agreement then he will be hauled back to face prosecution.”

The law allows for alternative dispute resolution mechanisms among them arbitration and reconciliation.

The agreement also required Mr Mwakwere to publish his apology in leading newspapers which he has already done.

As a peace agent, Mr Mwakwere must attend cohesion meetings at the Coast in person with a view to supporting unity of Coastal communities and Kenyans in general, according to the agreement.

Should Muhuri feel at any given time that the conciliation process is not satisfactory then it can unilaterally withdraw from the agreement and institute the original criminal proceedings against the minister.

Muhuri said the perception that it had dropped charges against the minister was wrong because that was the prerogative of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

An official at the NCIC who did not want to be named said the minister must tread carefully and abide by the agreement or risk the hate speech charges being revived.

The minister told the Nation on telephone that he would comment on the matter in two weeks.

On Tuesday, senior principal magistrate Lucy Nyambura discharged the MP under section 87(A) of the penal code after the DPP’s office informed her of the out of court agreement.

“The law allows for alternative dispute resolution and if parties have come into agreement to settle the matter outside court, it is obligatory to discharge him,” Ms Nyambura said.

The agreement was witnessed by the NCIC, coastal community elders and the chairman of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims.

Commission secretary Hassan Mohammed said the agreement was between Muhuri and the minister and the NCIC was a witness.

“Coastal leaders got together to reconcile as it was largely seen that the case would only serve to polarise the communities further,” Mr Mohammed said.