The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) on Monday listed five reasons why Kenyans were not at peace by the end of the first half of 2024 which ends on June 30.
NCIC while unveiling its report observed that while Kenya had made significant strides towards ensuring national cohesion, several factors have hindered Kenyans from being at peace.
Top of the list was hate speech and ethnic contempt especially exhibited on social media and other public platforms.
According to NCIC, while the number of cases had significantly reduced, the commission had recorded 268 cases of discrimination, incitement and hate speech.
A second factor which the commission listed is the recent floods phenomenon and its devastating consequences, which NCIC stated caused Kenyans distress that may take a long time to recover from.
“The social distress and emotional impact on many Kenyans as a result of many deaths, internally displaced persons and destruction of life will take long to heal,” read part of the statement.
Another factor listed in the report was rising cases of insecurity including banditry attacks. Over the past months, more than 75 people have lost their lives and many families displaced from their homes directly as a result of this form of crime.
Challenges stemming from devolution and boundary disputes were listed as another factor contributing to unease amongst Kenyans.
NCIC stated that it had recorded several instances of disharmony fueled by border conflict.
It also estimated that 33 out of the 47 counties had recorded boundary related conflicts.
The commission also pointed out that terrorist attacks witnessed in some parts of the country had also contributed to discontentment amongst the Kenyan population.
The commission stated that the impact and cost of insecurity not only poses a threat to Kenya’s fragile social cohesion fabric but is also a risk to the nation's economic development agenda.
