Notorious hate speakers will have a rough time getting visas to some foreign countries, NCIC chairman Samuel Kobia has said.
Speaking during the launch of the IEBC Strategic Plan (2020-2024) on Tuesday, Kobia said he is in talks with about 15 envoys over the matter.
“If we don’t give them visas, then they will behave. More so, those who incite violence should not be allowed to go to Europe or North America.. this will ensure that they stop behaving the way they do,” he said.
Noting that politicians are also human beings, Kobia said they have been pleasantly surprised that a number of politicians do not want to be shamed.
“.. some pleaded saying they hope their name won’t be in the list of shame. This has made hate speech go down. These politicians don’t want their friends to know that they are on the list,” he said.
He further noted that NCIC will also launch its plan that will ensure peace and tranquillity in Kenya ahead of the 2022 elections.
Last month, the commission raised concerns about the increased cases of hate speech, incitement and political intolerance ahead of the 2022 General Elections.
NCIC raised a red flag over the escalating ethnic violence in Marsabit, Turkana and West Pokot counties.
Kobia said that politicians have started beating drums of war by inciting their supporters in what he fears may spark violence.
The chairman disclosed the commission has deployed a robust detection, reporting and investigation mechanism to nab hatemongers.
In January, the cohesion commission unveiled a plan to curb hate speech and incitement ahead of the BBI referendum and 2022 election campaigns.
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission released statistics indicating it has handled 434 hate cases since 2017.
Some 185 of the total cases were reported in 2017 alone – the election year – with 85 reported in 2018, 75 in 2019 and 86 last year.
With the statistics showing most hate utterances are during campaigns, the Commission noted that it has raised its antennae and has already put in place a strategy to tame hate-mongering.
