Team to monitor hate speech set up ahead of polls

By Cyrus Ombati

NAIROBI,KENYA: The government has established a team to monitor hate speech on social media, FM stations and blogs ahead of the General Election putting inciters on notice.

Head of Civil Service Francis Kimemia said the team will focus on tribal hatred which usually lead to violence.

Kimemia said he, Internal Security permanent secretary Mutea Iringo and Information PS Bitange Ndemo are part of the team to lead the team as part of efforts to curb violence.

He said the team is supposed to zero in and identify individuals by name and prosecute them.

“Some of the abusive, highly corrosive, divisive, tribal messages and blogs are criminal and this is the reason why we have formed a special team as we head to the election,” Mr Kimemia said in a statement.

Kimemia added the team will work with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and National Steering Committee on Media Monitoring to bring the perpetrators to book.

 “We are tracking all hate speakers, war mongers and peddlers without favour with a special focus on social media and few FM stations. We are leaving no stone unturned,” he added.

The move came days after the steering team claimed bloggers are spreading hate messages especially on major media websites and warned of a crackdown.

The group said since the messages and vitriolic exchanges that have taken an ethnic turn are communicated on popular media websites, it reaches thousands of internet users and may excite hatred ahead of the General Election.

Secretary Mary Ombara urged major media houses to exercise control to ensure such messages did not filter into their blogs.

She said some of the messages posted on the blogs bordered on hate speech hence need for their control before they are posted.

Ethnic hatred

“We have written to media houses and individual owners whose blogs have been receiving numerous hits, containing the ethnic hatred between two big tribes in the country,” she said.

“The committee is shocked by the raw and abusive language and stark hatred evidenced meted out to specific ethnic groups in the postings via the facebook pages.”

Some of the known bloggers usually react to news stories and features appearing on the said websites, but the exchanges usually degenerate into tribal exchanges.

She warned that some of the hate bloggers who are using pseudo names they will be tracked through the computers they use.

Ms Ombara said they are monitoring the blogs and the reactions therein and arguing some of the exchanges are attracting up to 1,000 comments an indication that majority of Kenyans were either participating in the exchanges or read the comments.

Ms Ombara urged Parliament to pass the Communication Commission of Kenya Bill, which offers provisions for regulating cyber content.

She argued there is a likelihood of such messages eliciting violence similar to the one witnessed in the 2007 General Election.