Tana River Senator Ali Bule quizzed over 'incitement' remarks

Tana River Senator Ali Bule was yesterday grilled by the National Commission and Integration Commission (NCIC) officials over alleged incitement.

Mr Bule was summoned by the commission to explain claims he threatened to evict a particular community from the county.

He reportedly made the inciting remarks during a meeting on July 15.

"We have summoned Senator Bule to help us with information on the ground following the clashes in his county," said NCIC Vice Chairperson Irene Wanyoike.

NCIC said more than 2,000 people have been displaced following last week's clashes in Tana Delta.

"The commission has been on the ground to talk with locals over what is going on and the information we have is that Mr Bule can help us with important information concerning the clashes," said Ms Wanyoike.

She said investigations were ongoing to establish individuals behind the chaos.

Senator Tana River County, Ali Bule, left, is escorted by his supporters after appearing before Vice Chairperson National Cohesion and Integration Commission, NCIC, Irene Wanyoike over hate speech at NCIC offices Nairobi on Aug 25, 2015. (PHOTO/ JONAH ONYANGO/ STANDARD)

The senator, who was accompanied by a handful of supporters, while addressing journalists outside the commission's headquarters rubbished the claims.

"I would like to take this earliest opportunity and say that the allegation is false, malicious and carefully choreographed by my political opponents to malign and tarnish my political standing both at the county and national level," Bule said.

He continued, "The words are alleged to have been uttered in Mbao Mbili, while in fact I held my meeting at Maendeleo village on the material date."

He reiterated his commitment to promote peaceful coexistence in the region.

"The Giriama people form a core block of the indigenous inhabitants of Tana River County and are therefore here to stay and live harmoniously with other communities in the county," he said.

The commission also confirmed that it would look into the case filed by Law Society of Kenya (LSK) against political analyst Mutahi Nguyi on Monday for allegedly making inciteful remarks on social media.

"We are going to go through the information provided by LSK before we can decide on whether it's within our mandate to handle it," said Commissioner Linda Ochiel.

Ms Ochiel said the commission will by next week know the next course of action.

LSK Secretary Apollo Mboya in his application urged NCIC to exercise its mandate to investigate the utterances made by Ngunyi, and make the necessary recommendations to the Director of Public Prosecution with a view to bring him to account.