'Toothless' NCIC blames funding shortfall for its weak bite on hate

The Chairman National Cohesion and Integration Commission Reverend Samuel Kobia flanked by other commissioners addresses the press in Naivasha on 23/1/24 where he called for the arrest of over 10 MPs for hate speech. [Antony Gitonga, Standard] The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), the 17-year-old organisation with a big name and mandate, has more often than not found itself on the receiving end for being toothless. From being accused of bias to demands for its disbandment for allegedly failing in its mandate to crack down on hate speech and ethnic profiling, they have been at the centre of heavy criticism. Today, they are facing accusations of failing to effectively deal with politicians spreading hate each passing day. Concerns have also been raised about the legal framework within which NCIC operates and the level of proactiveness, with critics saying it is a moribund body and should be disbanded. NCIC is a statutory body established under the National Cohesion and Integration Act No.12 of 2008 after a highly divisive general election which almost tipped the country into anarchy after the disputed polls. Over 1,000 people were killed in the ensuing violence. "The establishment of NCIC recognised the need for a national institution to promote national identity and values, mitigate ethno-political competition and ethnically motivated violence, eliminate discrimination on ethnic, racial and religious basis and promote it," the NCIC states on its website. A section of Kenyans has accused NCIC of issuing warnings and promising to "investigate and take action," but minimal action is seen to be done despite enjoying a budgetary allocation from public coffers. According to its structure, the Commission comprises both Commissioners and the Secretariat. NCIC Commissioners include the Chairperson and six Commissioners appointed by the National Assembly, while the Secretariat is composed of the Commission Secretary and other members of staff who serve in two broad directorates namely; Programmes and Technical Services, and Finance and Administration. The Commission, which had appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security earlier in the year, warned of rising political tensions ahead of the 2027 General Election and stressed the need for additional funding to curb escalating hate speech and ethnic contempt. Chief Executive Officer Humphrey Kariuki stated that in the previous financial year, NCIC had been allocated a Sh567 million budget. With additional funding, he said, the Commission would accelerate hate speech investigations across all platforms, including digital spaces, and launch new sensitisation campaigns to de-escalate political polarisation and ethnic intolerance. Commissioner Abdulaziz Ali Farah lamented the NCIC's budgetary constraints, noting that they hinder its ability to fully implement its mandate. "The country is already in a campaign mood, and we need a unified approach to contain hate speech ahead of the elections. We are currently funded mainly for office operations, including salaries and rent, rather than for implementing our mandate," stated Farah. Commissioner Danvas Makori, while revealing that the Commission was developing an open-source software to monitor and address rising hate speech online, reinforced the need for additional funding. "There is a perception that NCIC is ineffective and should be abolished, yet we have achieved a lot despite our challenges. We urge the committee to fund us so we can conduct preventive work and help de-escalate conflicts," he said. Quite a number of times, NCIC Chairman Samuel Kobia has tried to fight off the 'toothless dog' tag, stating that besides the Commission having an extensive mandate, it lacks prosecutorial powers. Kobia has stated that the Commission's mandate is limited to conducting investigations and has no role once the matter is forwarded to the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions. NCIC had requested the National Treasury to be allocated Sh750.5 million for the 2025/26 financial year, but the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) provided Sh568 million instead, the same amount that was allocated in the current financial year, leaving a funding gap of Sh182.5 million. While the parliamentary team supported the plea for increased budgetary allocations, it also criticised the Commission for being "toothless" and ineffective in executing its mandate. The Commission's inability to secure convictions from the numerous cases it has been handling has fuelled the perception that it has failed to meet public expectations. In other instances, the NCIC has been accused of being turned into a tool for settling political scores, and particularly of fighting the opposition, a claim they have consistently dismissed. Where the Commission makes and attempts to deal with politicians accused of orchestrating chaos, the cases either collapse in court or they are threatened with lawsuits for allegedly maligning the names of those it has accused of hate speech. Earlier in the year, Kenyans took to social media in an online campaign to demand the defunding of the NCIC, accusing it of being complicit in the spread of tribalism and hate speech. In the last two years, cases of hate speech have been on the rise and while some of the politicians are summoned to respond to inciting remarks, others have seemingly not received any summonses despite the magnitude of their content. Among other roles, the Commission is required to facilitate and promote equal opportunity, good relations and peaceful co-existence of persons of different ethnic and racial communities, and advise the government on such matters. It is also tasked with the elimination of all forms of ethnic or racial discrimination and discourages persons, institutions, political parties and associations from advocating or promoting discrimination as it strives to enhance tolerance, understanding and acceptance of diversity "in all aspects of national life." Despite the criticism, NCIC has highlighted a number of achievements, citing capacity-building sessions conducted annually for teachers and students, which they say have enhanced their capacities in conflict resolution within their peers and the communities. It also states that issues on national values and integration have been enshrined in the new education curriculum, and through engagement with the Ministry of Education, Twaweza Communications and Google Kenya, the Commission has also established virtual and human networks dubbed "Amani Google Bridges." "The online platform has enabled the Commission to provide a model for bridging the divides between people, communities and cultures through technology. This programme is running in 10 schools in five counties (Mombasa, Kwale, Kisumu, Nairobi and Migori)," the NCIC documents its achievements. According to NCIC, the Commission scaled up media engagements to dissuade Kenyans from engaging in hate mongering, emotive-ethnicised politics, and intolerance to diversity.

'Toothless' NCIC blames funding shortfall for its weak bite on hate

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