Ruku appears before NCIC over hate speech claims

Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku. [File, Standard]

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has appeared before the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to answer questions over allegations of hate speech and incitement.

The commission summoned Ruku on Tuesday, September 1, over claims linked to inflammatory statements made during public engagements.

Speaking after the session, Ruku said no leader should incite the public and urged anyone summoned by a constitutional institution to honour the process.

"There is no leader who should incite violence, there is no leader who should incite hate or violence. All of us should subject ourselves to the rule of law, and when called upon by any constitutional institution we should respect that and appear," he said.

The commission also disclosed it will deliver a determination next week on separate hate speech claims against Busia Governor Paul Otuoma and Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma, who have both already appeared before it.

"Today we have had a very good engagement with the CS and the commission will be retreating to assess and analyse the discussion we have had and then we will give our determination next week," the commission noted.

Before his own summons, Ruku had publicly pressed the NCIC to act on remarks attributed to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

The commission summoned Ruku alongside Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale over separate hate speech allegations.

NCIC Commissioner Jerusah Mwaathime said the commission has now forwarded Gachagua's file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), noting several complaints against him had stalled at the commission for years without progressing.

"I need to bring to the attention of the country that we have forwarded the file of the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to the ODPP because when we came in we found he had many cases at the commission but for some reason they had not progressed up to the ODPP level," she said during an interview on Citizen TV.

Mwaathime said the decision to summon Duale and Ruku followed completed investigations into their alleged remarks.

"We have reached a certain stage of our investigation where now we are ready, and we have summoned Hon Duale, we have summoned CS Ruku, and we have also summoned Kaguchia, Mukurweini Member of Parliament. We usually give them 14 days, and most of them will be appearing before us next week," she said.