Court orders MP Salasya to apologize, run peace campaign before hate speech case withdrawal.

Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Salasya in Court. [Nancy Gitonga, Standard]

Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Salasya must fulfill stringent conditions before his hate speech case can be withdrawn, a Nairobi court ruled on Monday.

Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Paul Mutai declined to terminate the case against the legislator, instead ordering him to issue a public apology and participate in a social media peace campaign through his platforms within 14 days.

The magistrate's decision came after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) sought to withdraw the charges under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code, citing an out-of-court settlement between Salasya and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC).

However, Magistrate Mutai insisted on seeing proof of compliance with the agreement before granting the withdrawal.

"There is no evidence of compliance provided. I therefore direct that compliance be done within 14 days from today. The parties must hold a joint well-publicised conference at a place to be communicated by the NCIC and the accused person," Magistrate Mutai ordered.

"Secondly, the accused person shall participate in a social media campaign during which the accused person shall advocate for peace, cohesion, and integration within the country. The evidence of such activities is to be provided. I need to look at the press conference and the social media campaigns," the court further directed

The DPP, through Prosecutor Nora Achieng, had applied to have the matter withdrawn, referencing the agreement between the MP and NCIC to resolve the dispute outside court.

Despite the settlement, Magistrate Mutai ruled that the terms must be executed in full before the case can be dropped, requiring tangible evidence of the public apology and peace advocacy campaign.

In May last year, the DPP charged Hon. Peter Kalerwa Salasya with hate speech contrary to the National Cohesion and Integration Commission Act.

According to the charge sheet, Salasya is accused of publishing inciteful remarks likely to stir ethnic hatred on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, @pksalasya, on May 10, 2025, at an unknown location within Kenya.

The MP pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Principal Magistrate Peter Mutai and was released on a surety bond of Sh 400,000 or cash bail of Sh 200,000.

The prosecution initially referred the matter to NCIC on October 8, 2025, following a court directive by Magistrate Mutai.

State Prosecutor Virginia Kariuki from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) had requested time for the Commission to assess the case and provide recommendations before deciding how to proceed.

At the time, Magistrate Mutai questioned whether the referral might create a parallel process outside the judicial system.

The prosecution clarified that NCIC's role was purely advisory and would not override court proceedings.

Salasya was arrested in May 2025 following allegations that he made inciting utterances during political rallies in Meru and Isiolo, as well as along his travel route toward Nanyuki.

The remarks allegedly contained inflammatory content that risked provoking ethnic tensions.

The matter will be mentioned on February 2, 2025, for confirmation of compliance.