NCIC a toothless Bulldog?

The Chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), Bishop Dr. Kepha Nyamweya Omae (center) flanked by Inter-religious Council of Kenya Chairperson Sheikh Abdullahi Salat and Evangelical Alliance of Kenya Chairperson Bishop Geoffrey Njuguna when they revealed the people under hate speech investigations that includes Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku among others. NCIC offices, Nairobi. July 27, 2026.[Kanyiri Wahito]

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission(NCIC) is on the spot over the manner it will handle high-profile individuals who are accused of making inflammatory remarks as the country heads to the 2027 general election.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Homa Bay Town MP Opondo Kaluma are some of the senior leaders in the country who have openly shown some defiance towards NCIC summons recently.

Kenyans are keenly waiting to see if NCIC will implement its warnings to those who fail to honour summons to appear with threats of warrants of arrests and production before NCIC, as well as possible criminal or contempt proceedings being preferred against them.

The NCIC has already summoned Gachagua to appear before it on Thursday this week but in a response through his lawyers, Kiragu Wathuta & Company Advocates, he has made it clear that he will be unavailable since he will be outside the country from August 26 to October 20.

Duale, who was summoned by NCIC last month, declared that he will not honour any invitations from the NCIC unless the former Deputy President was also summoned over what he described as inflammatory remarks targeting the Somali and Muslim communities.

Kaluma, who was summoned to appear before the commission on Wednesday last week, did not show up, stating that he was not be available on the date specified in the summons because of State duties asking for rescheduling of his attendance until after August 27th.

In a summons dated August 18, 2026, the commission directed Gachagua to appear at its offices in Nairobi on Thursday, August 27 at 2PM to assist with ongoing investigations over various utterances made on different dates during separate public forums across the country.

Gachagua is alleged to have made a statement on February 23, 2026, at Gusii Stadium in Kisii County, targeting Nyaribari Chache MP Zaheer Jhanda in which he questioned the MP’s presence in the area and made remarks about his political support base.

The commission cited statements allegedly made during Gachagua’s tour of Meru between July 25 and July 28, 2026 where he said to have used the phrases “tuta ua nyoka pamoja na mayai” and “kufukuza William Ruto kwa kura” while addressing a public gathering.

The NCIC alleged that Gachagua accused President William Ruto of seeking to eliminate the political leadership of the Mount Kenya region and criticised leaders who had supported his administration, urging residents to send a “very strong signal” to leaders he accused of betraying the community.

Duale, during a public event in Mandera County last month, is alleged to have compared the Somali and Kikuyu communities by population before recounting what he described as historical discrimination against Somalis under previous administrations of Presidents Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta.

"Past administrations under Kenyatta, Kibaki and Uhuru marginalised Somalis deliberately denying our youth national identity cards, they must know Somalis are a majority tribe of 40 million across the region, while these hyenas are only three million and confined strictly to Kenya,” said Duale.

Duale accused the former Deputy President of questioning the appointment of Somalis to senior government positions, particularly within the security sector, and making derogatory remarks about Somali business leaders, maintaining that he will not honour summons until Gachagua appears first.

Duale has denied any wrongdoing, insisting his remarks were taken out of context and deliberately distorted for political purposes, stating the phrase at the centre of the controversy, "Waraabe la-tagis bartay, ka-ridis waa ku dhib," is a traditional Somali proverb referring to the difficulty of abandoning long-held habits and was never intended to demean any community.

Kaluma was summoned by NCIC over what was termed as incitement utterances he made in Luo language before last Sunday's Linda Mwananchi rally in Homa Bay County, whose aftermath resulted in the killing of at least two people and the injury of many others.

Kaluma asked the commission to provide what he described as the correct transcription and translation of remarks attributed to him before he appears and acknowledged the receipt of the summons but disputed the accuracy of the material forming the basis of the inquiry.

The NCIC CEO Dr Daniel Mutegi in his appearance before the Senate in November last year said that they were investigating Gachagua, four governors, and at least 10 Members of Parliament over hate speech remarks they had made in different occasions across the country.

Mutegi told the Senate National Cohesion, Equal Opportunities and Regional Integration Committee that at least 28 political leaders had been summoned to appear before the NCIC over inflammatory remarks with some honouring the invites while others ignored them.

He said at the time that Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, Turkana Governor Jeremiah Lomurkai and Meru Governor Isaac Mutuma were awaiting verification of their video clips over inflammatory remarks by the Communications Authority before the NCIC summoned them.

Members of Parliament under investigation included: Mpuru Aburi (Tigania West), Farah Maalim (Dadaab), Amos Mwago (Starehe), Dan Wanyama (Webuye West), Nelson Koech (Belgut), Phelix Odiwuor (Langata), William Kamket (Tiaty), Said Hiribae (Galole), Yakub Kuno (Bura), Amina Dika (Tana River County) and Fatuma Jehow (Wajir County).

"I would like to inform the Senate that the former Deputy President and Koech, Odiwuor, Wanyama and Jehow, who are Members of Parliament, did not honour the summons to come before the National Cohesion and Integration Commission and explain themselves when they were required," said Dr Mutegi.

The CEO said there were several legislators who honoured the summons who include: Aburi, Kamket, Hiribae, Maalim, Kuno, Dika and Mwago, who were grilled about utterances that they made that were considered to be inflammatory, where they got a chance to explain themselves.

Mutegi told the Committee Chaired by Marsabit Senator Mohammed Chute that despite the efforts that the commission has done to manage hate speech in the country, they are grappling with several challenges, including limited funding, which affects timely investigation of inflammatory utterances.

The CEO said that hate speech, ethnic contempt, and Inflammatory language, especially by influential public figures and politicians, are a root cause and driver of violence and conflict with the commission asking the Senate to support them to get more funding to carry out their work.

"We would like to inform the Senate that the commission lacks political goodwill, especially about the amendment of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission Act. The commission has since 2014 attempted to make amendments to the act but the bill has never gone beyond the second reading stage in the National Assembly," said Dr Mutegi.

Nominated Senator Catherine Mumma said it was high time the state agencies took their work seriously since cases of hate speech and ethnic profiling have become rampant in the recent past and that, if left unchecked, may be a precursor to violence as the country gets into campaigns.

"We would like to know what the National Cohesion and Integration Commission and National Gender and Equality Commission are doing to ensure that we do not go back to where we were in 2007 when the country burnt due to relevant agencies' failure to take action," said Mumma.

Chute sought to know the number of culprits of hate speech the commissions has taken to court, how many of them have been summoned and what else they are doing to make sure  the country is safe instead of only coming up with vague reports of their work over the years.

The Marsabit Senator said that while they acknowledge that there are some political issues to be handled, the two commissions politically should be able to show Kenyans what they are doing to address matters that are likely to take the country to the dogs if not taken care off.

"Kenyans have high expectations of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission. Unfortunately, it seems the state agency is not living up to its core mandate; we as the representatives of the citizens, are not satisfied," said Chute.