Sirisia MP John Waluke is on the spot over an ethnic slur against Jubilee Party secretary general Raphael Tuju.
A video widely circulated on social media appears to show the outspoken MP, a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto attacking Tuju and his ethnic community.
The clip has attracted the attention of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission which is now preparing to summon Waluke for grilling.
Commission secretary Hassan Mohamed told the Star that the legislator violated section 62 of the NCIC Act.
“Any person who utters words intended to incite feelings of contempt, hatred, hostility, violence or discrimination against any person, group or community on the basis of ethnicity or race, commits an offence,” section 62 (1) of the act reads in part.
Offenders are liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one million shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both.
Mohamed said that his officers looked at the video clip carefully and concluded that the law was indeed broken.
“We will be taking action since that is what is required of us when the law is violated. He should just have attacked Tuju as a person and not include the community he comes from,” he said.
In the remarks, Waluke who claimed he was speaking as the national vice-chair of Jubilee, said Tuju was not given the position of secretary general to bring conflict in the party “the way people from his community like to do”.
“I want to warn Tuju that I will deal with him. We will kick him out of the party and ask him to go home to stay with people from his community, who are known for starting problems for this country,” he said.
Waluke is well known for being a controversial lawmaker.
He is currently facing charges for receiving millions of shillings from the National Cereals and Produce Board from falsified documents.
Page five of the Jubilee Constitution, signed against by President Uhuru Kenyatta speaks strongly against ethnic mobilisation.
“Jubilee represents every part of our country, every group in our nation and is committed to uniting Kenyans under a shared vision of peace, progress and prosperity,” the constitution states.
Tuju, a former MP for Rarienda has been under siege from Ruto and his allies allegedly for working for Opposition chief Raila Odinga.
Ironically, a section of the DP's allies led by Oscar Sudi has previously chided the cabinet secretary of being a reject by his community.
However, things took a new twist after Tuju embraced Raila, courtesy of the handshake spearheaded by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
On Tuesday, State House defended Tuju from the attacks, saying his weekend function with opposition politicians in his Rarieda backyard was sanctioned by the President.
Nominated MP Maina Kamanda termed Tuju as a development-oriented leader who is being attacked by Ruto and his team simply because he supports the March 9 handshake.
“Anybody who is supporting the handshake is an enemy of Ruto. Ruto has been against the handshake right from day one and anybody who seems to be supportive of it is his foe,” he said.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei is among legislators who have said Tuju was a traitor and termed him as the enemy within. He called for his replacement for the sake of the party’s future.
Attempts to reach the MP for comment were not successful as calls and text messages were not answered.
(edited by O. Owino)
