• They are Kiambu, Kilifi, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo(Tiaty), Nakuru, Nyeri and Kakamega.
• President Uhuru Kenyatta's succession politics fueled by the handshake has led to fierce political jostling.
Image: FILE
The National Cohesion Integration Commission has released a list of eight counties identified as hate speech hotspots.
The counties are Kiambu, Kilifi, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo(Tiaty), Nakuru, Nyeri and Kakamega.
They are being monitored by the commission.
Speaking in Nairobi on Tuesday, CEO Hassan Mohamed said the commission has heightened the war on hate speech.
“We are not saying hate speech has taken place there but they are the potential hotspots because of numerous rallies going on over the weekends,” Mohamed said.
The commission has issued additional 110 audio recorders and eight camcorders to security officers in these counties to enhance monitoring of hate speech and incitement to violence.
Experts will transcribe the audios once recorded.
The commission said although the Constitution recognises and encourages freedom of speech, the right does not extend to incitement to violence, hate speech or propaganda for war.
“However, not all speech or expression with racial or ethnic perspectives amounts to hate speech,” Mohamed said.
“Politicians implicated in hate speech will be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh1 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both."
The NCIC report comes amid increased political activity surrounding the succession of President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022.
Politicians from Central Kenya especially Kiambu and Nyeri are engaged in intense jostling over whether Deputy President William Ruto should take over from Uhuru.
Last year's famous handshake between Uhuru and ODM chief Raila Odinga has also fueled political tensions.
Uhuru has not helped matters by his hesitation to identify his heir. He told Nyeri residents last November that he would speak at the right time, adding that his political choices will "shock many".
The sharp division among Central politicians is on whether the community owes Ruto a political debt for supporting Uhuru in the 2013 and 2017 elections.
This has led to the formation of Tangatanga and Kieleweke political squads.
The 2022 succession politics is also raising the political temperature in Rift Valley, considered Ruto's bastion.
Prominent Uasin Gishu businessman and politician Zedekiah Bundotich Kiprop, popularly known as Buzeki, quit Jubilee last week to chart his own political path ahead of the 2022 elections.
Buzeki accused DP Ruto and his allies of interfering with the Jubilee nominations in the last polls. He ran for governor and lost to Ruto ally Jackson Mandago.
He expressed concern there are elements close to the DP who are determined to continue "forcing" candidates on the electorate.
Buzeki named Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, Soy MP Caleb Kositany and Ruto’s aide Farouk Kibet as the people who frustrated him in Jubilee.
A section of leaders from Baringo county led by Tiaty MP William Kamket have told leaders allied to DP Ruto to brace themselves for a hot political contest ahead of the 2022 elections.
At the Coast, the ODM party appears to be losing ground. In January, Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, Woman Rep Gertrude Mbeyu and Jubilee nominated Senator Christine Zawadi told Mombasa Governor Ali Joho to stop interfering with Kilifi politics.
Ruto's many journeys to Western Kenya have split the region. ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya counterpart Moses Wetang'ula have announced they will run for president. But many MPs from the area support Ruto.
Former Kakamega senator Bonny Khalwale has been one of the vocal supporters of the DP's 2022 presidential ambitions despite his party boss Wetang'ula announcing his candidature.
Khalwale faced expulsion from Ford Kenya before defected to Jubilee last week.