The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has called out the Daily Nation for running a story claiming that the commission has been disbanded.
NCIC said in a statement on Wednesday, the day after the article, that the reporting misrepresented the facts by saying that Kipchumba Murkomen, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, had dismantled the leadership rather than reporting that the commissioners were nearing the end of their term.
The commission's Chair, Samuel Kobia, said that the Constitution requires that NCIC commissioners serve a non-renewable term of six years, and since they assumed office on November 19, 2019, they would conclude their term on November 17, 2025.
"We therefore wish to clarify that recent media reports, specifically the Nation Media, alleging the disbandment of the Commission are incorrect, misleading and a misrepresentation of the facts.
"The NCIC remains fully operational and continues to execute its legal mandate. The Commission is actively preparing a comprehensive handover report to H.E. Dr William Samoei Arap Ruto, EGH, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, as our appointing authority, and in line with its commitment to accountability and good governance."
On Tuesday, November 4, the local daily ran a story titled, 'CS Murkomen disbands NCIC leadership, kicks off search for new commissioners', in which it reported that CS Murkomen had gazetted vacancies for eight commissioner positions.
In its reporting, it relayed that the vacancy announcement came just a day after the Senate threatened to disband the commission, alluding to the fact that the CS had done so.
During a heated session on Monday, November 3, senators accused the commission of being too casual and ineffective, warning that the country risks sliding back to the atrocities witnessed after the 2007 elections if decisive action is not taken.
As such, they threatened to transfer the commission's mandate to other state agencies.
Over the years, since its establishment in 2008 after the 2007/08 PEV, NCIC has faced criticism for often failing to fulfil its mandate to curb hate speech, which plunged Kenya into the chaos.
Speaking during an interview with Radio Generation on October 23, NCIC commissioner Dr Danvas Makori exposed the legal gaps that have allowed for politicians to get away with hate speech without legal repercussions.
He claimed that the existing legal guidelines did not explicitly provide a description for hate speech that could hold up in court, leading to many cases going unprosecuted.
"Part of the settlement of Agenda 4 National Accord was to set up a commission like this to tick a box, but the way the law was created was weak and very intentional," he said.
"They set the threshold for the definition of hate speech very high. If you go to court right now and you look at the definition of hate speech, before you convict someone of that or even prove that, it is a very uphill task."
