Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina’s troubles seem to be deepening.
The vocal lawmaker was Tuesday May 19, issued with a magistrate Court’s summon to have him appear in Court on June 2, 2020.
This follows a hate speech that was spoken by the lawmaker while appearing in a televised interview in February, 2019.
The summon was issued by Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot after the prosecution counsel James Gachoka stated that they were unable to arrest the Senator due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The charge sheet details that on February 19, the Senator during the JKL show made utterances that were aimed to incite feelings of discrimination against communities that were not Maasai’s living in Narok County.
The utterances reported to have been made state,”..that Maasai issues will be articulated by Maasais not Manje…who can be able to get an audience in Mount Kenya”.
Following the show, Ole Kina received criticism from netizens and leaders in general who accused him of instigating ethnic wars.
This prompted the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to come out with guns blazing and condemn his actions.
NCIC urged Kenyans to maintain peace and focus on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) as they investigated the matter.
“With regards to the statements made on #JKLive, the matter has come to our attention and we strongly condemn such utterances that may hinder cohesion in the country. We urge Kenyans to maintain peace & continue engaging in the BBI process even as we look into the matter,” NCIC said.
Further, according to the NCIC boss Samuel Kobia, Ole Kina’s remarks had threatened the national cohesion of Narok county and its surrounding environment.
“These invective and diatribe utterances have caused animosity and triggered tension among the different communities living in the county,” he said.
Recently, Ole Kina has been caught up in political wrangles following his election as the chair of the powerful County Public Accounts and Investment Committee (CPAIC).
Senate Minority leader James Orengo opposed his appointment and threatened to withdraw the membership of the minority from the committee, until “an appropriate resolution can be made”
However, the Court halted the removal of Ledama from the committee until the matter is resolved.
