Kaparo team to probe calls for ethnic vote in Nairobi

What you need to know:

  • Former Subukia MP Koigi wa Wamwere warned that the trend was a sad reflection of the society and should be curtailed.

  • NCIC chairman Francis ole Kaparo told the Saturday Nation that the agency will investigate the cases and issue a report in due time.

The national cohesion agency is investigating politicians asking their communities to vote in “one of their own” in Nairobi during the 2017 elections.

The new trend, activists have said, will erode cohesion efforts in the country and that, such kind of talk by politicians could lead to fighting among communities living in the capital.

National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) chairman Francis ole Kaparo told the Saturday Nation that the agency will investigate the cases and issue a report in due time.

“Right now, I don’t want to speak about those cases. I want to speak when I have seen the clips and listened to the audios and put them in context. The commission will issue a statement after due process,” said Mr Kaparo.

Former Subukia MP Koigi wa Wamwere warned that the trend was a sad reflection of the society and should be curtailed.

“We are playing with fire here and we may shrug it off and say it’s an exaggeration, but these are things that will hit us really bad. Nairobi is particularly vulnerable because it is the heart of the nation. If you heat it up, there will be no Kenya,” said Mr Wamwere.

He said that it will take a powerful no-nonsense NCIC and Kenyans to stand up and defeat the new trend.

During a meeting in Kericho on New Year’s Eve, Deputy President William Ruto allegedly asked the Kalenjin to register en masse in Nairobi saying it was time they had “one of their own” as an MP in the capital.

Similarly, cases of vernacular stations encouraging their listeners to register in Nairobi to vote in “one of their own” have been on the increase.