The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hassan Mohammed has indicated that journalists are likely to face drastic consequences in the future.
Speaking on Citizen TV, Mohammed indicated that the Commission is considering suing journalists under a Section of the National Cohesion and Integration (NCI) Act if they fail to cooperate with the body.
In particular, the NCIC boss took issue with an incident in which a journalist failed to honor summons to testify in an incitement case that he covered.
"If you cover something as a journalist or a media station, then you should be able to own it up," Mohammed stated.
"Otherwise, the media station and the journalists can be charged under the Section 62 of the National Cohesion and Integration Act," he added.
[caption caption="NCIC CEO (left) Hassan Mohammed with the Commission Chairman Francis Ole Kaparo"]
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According to Mohammed: "Journalists are Kenyans like any other and therefore they should be able to help us (NCIC)."
However, Mohammed acknowledged that journalists who testified in such incitement cases were likely to put their life at risk and may encounter similar problems.
Put to task whether the Commission was impartial in discharging its mandate, Mohammed expressed that "there were no holy cows" hence they would apprehend anyone irrespective of their political affiliation.
Mohammed further indicated that the commission grilled Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu and was planning to summon her Kiambu counterpart, Ferdinand Waititu, over incitement of violence and making utterances that were contrary to the NCI Act.
[caption caption="Journalists protesting over proposed media bill in the past"]
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Queried whether the delay in summoning Governor Waititu was a case of selective justice, Mohammed indicated that the process takes longer due to the requirements, including investigations to get the facts, finding witnesses and eventual summoning.
