Political leaders who have been called to appear before the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) have been put on notice, with the commission warning that refusal to attend could lead to arrest.
NCIC Chairperson Kepha Omae issued the warning on Monday, August 24, after Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia appeared before the commission to answer questions over remarks he is accused of making.
Omae said the commission expected all leaders who had received summonses to make arrangements to attend and respond to the issues raised against them.
He said the NCIC would first give the leaders an opportunity to appear voluntarily but would move to seek warrants of arrest if they continued avoiding the summonses.
"We are grateful that Kaguchia has appeared before the Commission. I want to ask the other clients to follow suit.
"Do not push us to the wall for us to seek warrants of arrest and come for you. In your own volition and in obedience to the summons, figure a way to appear before the NCIC," Omae declared.
The NCIC chairperson also pushed back against accusations that the commission was applying different standards when dealing with hate speech complaints.
Omae said some Kenyans had wrongly concluded that leaders were being pursued because of their tribes, insisting that tribal considerations had no place in the commission's work.
The warning came as Kaguchia's lawyers challenged part of the case against him, focusing on the way the remarks attributed to the MP had been translated.
His legal team argued that the words used by Kaguchia may not carry the same meaning after being translated, and asked the commission to have the statement examined by someone who understands the language in which it was originally made.
Lawyer Ndegwa Njiru told the commission that the document and its interpretation could be reviewed by a person with knowledge of the language and who could also provide a certificate confirming the translation.
"We are willing to have the document and the interpretation read by a person who understands the language and a person who can issue a certificate of translation. As my learned friend said, that meaning was lost in translation," Njiru told the Commission.
Kaguchia's appearance is part of a wider NCIC process involving several political leaders who have been asked to respond to allegations concerning their remarks.
Among those summoned are Democratic Party leader Rigathi Gachagua, Busia Governor Paul Otuoma and Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma.
Gachagua has already communicated to the commission that he will not be available on the date listed in his summons because it falls at a time when he is scheduled to travel to the United States.
However, through his lawyers, Gachagua said he remains ready to work with the commission and take part in the investigations.
His lawyers have asked the NCIC to provide him with the evidence and information connected to the allegations before he participates in the process.
The request, according to his legal team, is aimed at allowing Gachagua to have access to the material on which the allegations are based before responding to them.
The commission's warning has now put the other leaders summoned in the spotlight, as Omae made it clear that failure to appear voluntarily could result in the NCIC taking steps to obtain warrants and bring them before the commission.