Politicians in Kirinyaga county have been warned to tame their tongues during the campaign season lest they find themselves in trouble.
County police commander Mathew Mang’ira said the police will record political messages and arrest and prosecute those inciting residents.
Mang’ira said already they have identified police officers who will be deployed to record hate speech messages during political meetings.
“We are going to arrest for hate speech and take people to court, we must ensure we have a peaceful election and we are not going to let our politicians interfere with it,” he said.
He said every Kenyan must be willing to learn from what happened in the past and endeavour to promote peace during and after the August 9 General Election.
“Nobody would want a repeat of what happened to our country in 2007 -2008, and this is why we must do everything possible to ensure we have peace.”
The police boss spoke on Friday during the formation of the Kirinyaga multisectorial peace committee, which has brought together various stakeholders to ensure there is peace during and after the elections.
He said the security agents were also carrying out their opinion polls and other planning to map out risk areas to prepare for any eventuality.
County commissioner Jim Njoka who chaired the meeting appealed to the committee members to encourage the public to vote.
“Every vote counts, it is our civic duty to elect people who can add value in our lives, those who fail to participate in the exercise end up allowing the wrong people to assume leadership,'' Njoka said.
He said boda Boda operators must take their stand and refuse to be misused by politicians who later abandon them after achieving their end.
“Please note people in the vulnerable group who include women, the aged, children, and people with disability suffer the most during violence,” Njoka said.
The administrator said the mandate of the committee would be to help and support the IEBC conduct peaceful elections.
He said the committee would facilitate civic education initiatives throughout the electoral period.
“Please preach peace, we have no other home to go to, let the public know there will be life after the elections,” Njoka added.
He said the committee would soon develop a work plan for election preparedness and deal with issues that are likely to bring tension during and after the polls.
“We had incidents in the past where many of the bar owners withheld identification cards of their clients for failing to pay for drinks and denying them their right to register as voters.
He said it is those small issues if not addressed in a good time, that result in interference with peace among the communities.
The forum, which will be meeting once a month, has brought together leaders from the Nyumba Kumi, teachers' representatives, media, opinion leaders, and heads of government departments.
-Edited by SKanyara
