Magistrate to decide Thursday whether MP Moses Kuria should be sent to remand prison

NAIROBI: Controversial Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria faces anxious moments today as a magistrate's court is expected to rule if he should continue enjoying his freedom.

If Milimani Resident Magistrate Teresia Nyangena grants the wish of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko, Kuria may be sent to the Industrial Area Remand Prison.

Last week, Tobiko returned to court under a certificate of urgency to seek the cancellation of bail given to Kuria in a previous case of incitement.

The DPP's application followed a request by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to his office to seek the cancellation of a bail given to the MP after he was charged last year with incitement to violence and ethnic hatred but was released on a Sh2 million cash bail.

NCIC was angered by the MP's utterances in a video clip in which he is heard encouraging youths to attack people who oppose National Youth Service projects with machetes, saying this had breached the bail terms granted to him.

NCIC Chairman Francis Kaparo said the utterances by Kuria were clear incitement to violence.

The utterances prompted police to open a fresh inquiry into incitement charges and last week Kuria was grilled for three hours at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters.

Tuesday, Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro said they were investigating the case and will send the file to the DPP for action soon.

Although Kuria has since regretted his words, he has remained unapologetic over the claims. And on Tuesday night, he caused a stir after he walked out of a live TV interview, accusing the media of being biased.

The MP had protested a request by Citizen TV's Hussein Mohamed to play him the controversial clip but he rejected the idea, claiming it was distorted. Kuria wanted the 45-minute clip aired entirely and not part of it.

"Kenyans will be shocked that the function where I am supposed to have issued the inciting statement was on June 26, 2015. The story came out 13 days later. It was calculated editing of what happened. It is sad that the media can come up with this," he thundered and stormed out when the station began playing the clip.