Editorial commentary on hate speech and incitement to violence

Editorial commentary on hate speech and incitement to violence

Every often in a country’s journey, there comes a time when right thinking citizens- whether corporate or individuals- cannot afford to sit on the fence.

We simply cannot afford to be by-standers, to be detached and aloof when our so-called leaders are stoking the cauldron of hate, and fanning the flames of ethnic bigotry.

14 months to the 2017 polls, common sense, it seems, is no longer common among some of our politicians.

Yes, we are getting into the silly season, but collectively we cannot be fooled when some of our leaders are slowly, but surely, hurtling the country towards an abyss.

Surely nine years cannot be such a long period for us to forget the political transgressions that led the country to explode in the post 2007 General Election skirmishes.

When a member of parliament utters words that can be interpreted to mean a calling for the assassination of an opposition leader we should all be alarmed. Such a person is toxic to the society.

And when an opposition leader stands on a podium to declare that they are ready to mobilise their supporters to defend their leader and themselves, they are not only courting anarchy, they are suggesting Kenyan is a failed state.

We cannot purport to try and convict MPs Moses Kuria, Ferdinand Waititu, Kimani Ngunjiri, Timothy Bosire, Aisha Juma and Junet Mohamed, among others here, that remains the work of the relevant law enforcement agencies.

However, we dare say- without a doubt- that some of their utterances have served not only to demean the offices they hold but also the people they represent, besides undermining the cause for national unity.

We plead with both Jubilee and Cord leadership to draw a line between effective leadership that articulates genuine political interests and ethnic bigotry laced with demagoguery.

Finally, we would like to remind our leaders that failed states like Somalia did not do so overnight. There were trends and patterns that evolved over time.

If we could only learn one lesson from the 2007/2008 fiasco, let it be that Kenya is not too important to fail. That will be the inevitable outcome of the seemingly mindless desire by the political class to either acquire or retain political power.

 

 

 

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