Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei arrested over hateful utterances

Nandi County Senator Samson Cherargei has been arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

According to the DCI, Cherargei allegedly uttered hateful utterances at at Kilibwoni Primary School on August 17, 2019.

The Senator is expected to be arraigned in court to face charges of ethnic contempt contrary to Section 62(1) of the National Cohesion and Integration Act as well as incitement to violence contrary to Section 96(a) of the Penal Code.

#ARRESTED|NANDI SENATOR Hon. Samson Kiprotich CHERARGEI has been arrested by @DCI_Kenya Detectives following his hateful utterances at Kilibwoni Primary School on 17th August 2019. The suspect will be taken to court today to face charges of ethnic contempt c/section 62(1)… pic.twitter.com/SjPpTsaind

— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) December 3, 2019

Cherargei was previously summoned by the DCI over perceived inflammatory remarks he made at the funeral of late teacher Dominic Kiptoo Choge.

Speaking at the funeral, the vocal politician claimed that supporters of Deputy President William Ruto were “marking and profiling” those opposed to his presidential bid, further warning that when the time comes they would “deal with” them (opponents).

He was, a day later, arrested outside his home in Nandi after the detectives had camped outside the gate for hours.

He was later that evening released on a personal bond after being interrogated by at the DCI offices in Kisumu.

Addressing journalists at the Central Police Station after his release on August 20, 2019, Senator Cherargei maintained his innocence saying he didn’t intend to propagate any inciting remarks.

“I have always stood for peace, justice and human rights. We want to ask all Kenyans to be peaceful, especially the people of Nandi County. These are just routine investigations… but we should desist from turning this into political persecution because of our political affiliation,” he said then.