• He was arrested in Nairobi on Tuesday morning over incitement allegations.
• He has been taken to the DCI headquarters for questioning.
Image: FILE.
Narok county Senator Ledama Olekina has been arrested.
He was arrested in Nairobi on Tuesday morning over incitement allegations.
The senator was arrested over his utterances made on February 19, during the JKL Interview on Citizen TV.
He has been taken to the DCI headquarters for questioning.
The senator took to Twitter to announce his arrest
I have been arrested !!
— Sen. Ledama Olekina (@ledamalekina) February 25, 2020
National Cohesion and Integration Commission confirmed the arrest citing hate speech and incitement to violence.
The cohesion said in a statement, "These invective and diatribe utterances have caused animosity and triggered tension among the different communities living in Narok County".
"We shall reiterate that BBI is not a tool for seeking or demonstrating political supremacy. The raised issue sought to be addressed candidly and resolved amicable without diving and inciting Kenyans. We shall not tolerate these kinds of utterances that is dividing Kenyan along ethnic and tribal lines. Any leader regardless of their political affiliation or station in life will be held accountable for their own actions".
During the interview in JKL, the senator said the just concluded Building Bridges Initiative rally in Narok would be about the Maa community.
Olekina had said two groups held meetings separately to articulate on issues to be addressed during the rally.
"In the morning, those who are non-Maasai held a meeting in Rongai. We held our meeting at the Maasai Lodge. We were there to articulate on our issues," Olekina said.
"Maasai issues will be better articulated by Maasais and am not going to apologise for that."
The senator further said that the meeting will only address issues affecting the entire Maa counties, which he alleged have been 'terrorised and stigmatised' for a long time.
A group of Rift Valley leaders have demanded a public apology by the embattled Senator over his remarks.
While speaking to the media, the MCAs expressed their disgust in Olekina's tribal leadership.
During the Building Bridges Initiative Forum in Narok County on Saturday., Olekina asked the community must stand firm to protect their land and territory as leaders from the Maa community.
Protesting that members from the community were not from a lesser god, Olekina said they had been terrorized and stigmatized.
“The community’s issues will be articulated by the Maasai people,” Olekina said.
“We are very hospitable, we have invited everybody to this meeting. We must stand firm to protect our land and territory”.