Petition filed to bar Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga from office over alleged hate speech
The petitioners are asking the court to suspend Governor Kahiga from performing his duties pending the outcome of the case, arguing that his continued stay in office poses a danger to peace and cohesion.
Bunge la Wananchi and three individuals have moved to court seeking to have Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga declared unfit to hold public office over alleged inflammatory and ethnically divisive remarks that they claim threaten national unity and cohesion.
In a petition filed before the High Court, the group comprising Bunge la Wananchi, Lawrence Oyugi, Komeade Bush, and Nicholas Kimanzi, accuses Governor Kahiga of making utterances that mocked the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and demeaned members of the Luo community during a public event held in Nyeri County on October 17, 2024.
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The petitioners are asking the court to suspend Governor Kahiga from performing his duties pending the outcome of the case, arguing that his continued stay in office poses a danger to peace and cohesion.
"The 1st respondent, Hon. Mutahi Kahiga, holds a powerful and influential office. His continued presence there provides him with a platform from which he can repeat and amplify the impugned inflammatory and divisive statements," the petition reads in part.
According to court documents, the governor allegedly made the remarks in Kikuyu, later translated into English, implying that Odinga's death was a divine act in favour of his political side.
The petitioners claim the governor said, "All goodies were being directed there... but who is God, does he take ugali at somebody's house or sleep in Kayole?" comments they argue were loaded with ethnic undertones and mockery.
They say the use of "Kayole" in the statement was a coded reference to members of the Luo community and was intended to ridicule and demean them.
The petitioners insist that the governor's words amounted to hate speech and incitement, contrary to the Constitution and the National Cohesion and Integration Act.
The group further claims that Governor Kahiga's utterances violated several constitutional provisions, including Article 10 on national unity, Article 27 on equality and non-discrimination, and Articles 73 and 75 on integrity and conduct of state officers.
Citing Kenya's history of ethnic violence, the petitioners warn that such divisive rhetoric could rekindle inter-communal hostilities.
They reference the 1990s ethnic clashes and the 2007/2008 Post-Election Violence, saying Kahiga's remarks are akin to "pouring petrol on smouldering embers".
They are urging the court to suspend Governor Kahiga from office, declare him unfit to hold any public position, and compel the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate and take appropriate action against him.
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