Francis Kaparo warns parties on vote count row
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Nkaissery (second left), together with Mount Kenya University chairman Simon Gicharu (centre), join other delegates to release doves as a sign of peace. This was during the International Conference on Peace, Security and Social Enterprise held at Safari Park Hotel on May 17, 2017. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- NCIC chairman Francis ole Kaparo said that during the nominations process, some politicians took advantage of the youth to spark violence.
- Interior CS Joseph ole Nkaissery, who opened the event, told the opposition to stop painting a picture of electoral victory even before voting had been done.
- Interior CS Joseph ole Nkaissery accused the media of not being patriotic enough and of publishing stories that seem to stoke violence.
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has warned that the remarks political parties are making on the announcement of presidential results could be a recipe for violence come August 8.
Commission chairman Francis ole Kaparo said that during the nominations process, some politicians took advantage of the youth to spark violence.
“The posturing by different parties on the debate is a threat to national cohesion. These utterances are causing tension among voters, who should be getting ready to make their choices in a peaceful environment,” he said.
Mr Kaparo was referring to remarks by the National Super Alliance Coalition (Nasa) last Sunday that they will boycott the General Election if tallying of votes at the constituency level will not be final.
PEACEFUL ELECTIONS
The NCIC chairman was speaking at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, when he attended the International Conference on Peace, Security and Social Enterprise. The conference is geared towards achieving peaceful elections in Kenya.
“The commission has noted with great concern and warns politicians that their actions are a major recipe for electoral violence,” he said.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Nkaissery, who opened the event, told the opposition to stop painting a picture of electoral victory even before voting had been done.
He said this might make them refuse to accept the election results should they lose.
He said the opposition is lying to Kenyans that they have the numbers to win, yet these are exaggerated numbers and not the registered voters as contained in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) register.
19 MILLION VOTERS
“The IEBC has 19 million voters, according to the register. Some people are going ahead to claim that they have numbers amounting to 22.5 million. This is lying to Kenyans and inciting them,” said the CS.
“Leadership is a key determinant of the stability of our country, and the impact of such leadership is not only critical during this period but also in the extent to which leaders promise to promote cohesion and peace,” he added.
He accused the media of not being patriotic enough and of publishing stories that seem to stoke violence.
FAIR COVERAGE
These sentiments were shared by both Mr Kaparo and Prof Patrick Lumumba, who claimed that the media had been compromised to advance some people’s agenda at the expense of the country.
“The Kenyan media have been corrupted and are now being used to advance the interests of certain people. You should be patriotic, free, fair and speak the truth that advances our national agenda,” he said. But Nation Media Group’s Editor in Chief Tom Mshindi said the country would receive fair coverage as the media house would hold all leaders accountable to their words.
“In conflict, the media is involved both positively and negatively, but we will do a good job as we are ready for that,” said Mr Mshindi.
He added that the Nation Media Group, which is among the partners who teamed up with Mount Kenya University to organise the conference, is passionate about peace as one of the agendas it champions.
