On Sunday, January 9, Meru Senator Mithika Linturi, was arrested by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and taken in for questioning over remarks he made during a rally.
While addressing a crowd at the Eldoret Sports Club, Linturi made remarks that led to outrage, with a section of the public claiming that his sentiment amounted to ethnic incitement.
However, it was the swahili term, 'madoadoa' that seemed to have opened up wounds from the past, including the case against Deputy President William Ruto at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Kenyans.co.ke sought to establish why the term is deemed so sensitive and especially during the election period.
Madoadoa, when translated, connotatively refers to a spot or blemish when translated. However, according to the commission on Inquiry on the 2007 post-election violence (PEV) it was used denotatively to profile individuals.
The term has been used since 1992 - in reference to certain communities that were settled in the Rift Valley after independence.
"The desire to remove “foreigners”, derogatorily referred to as “madoadoa” or “spots” from their midst. The reference was mainly towards the Kikuyu, Kisii, Luo and other communities who had found permanent residence in the Rift Valley," read the findings by the Akiwumi commission.
Ruto was among leaders from the Rift Valley who allegedly used the term that was used to plan attacks on other communities considered outsiders during the skirmishes.
The evidence against him at The-Hague-based court included testimony from a witness who testified hearing Ruto asking Uasin Gishu residents to remove madoadoa ahead of the 2007 General Election.
It was used alongside other terms as coded language to propagate hatred and spite against target communities in the Rift Valley
"A witness told the Commission that the following “threatening terms” were routinely used against Kikuyu: madoadoa (spots), maharagwe (bean), bunyot (enemy), sangara (wild grass) with the additional notation that they should be “uprooted"," read the report in part.
As a result, it sparked the violent eviction of individuals from the region. In retaliation, the members of the Kikuyu community retaliated, also engaging in social 'cleansing' in the Mount Kenya region and parts of Rift Valley.
Consequently, 1,300 lives were lost while more than 5,000 Kenyans were internally displaced.
Linturi's sentiments did not suit well with Kenyans, who have openly declared that they did not want a repeat of what happened in the 2007 poll.
The National Police Service, the National Commission on Integrity and Cohesion (NCIC), have been vigilant to ensure that hate speech is not propagated.
Kenya has also been put under the by local, regional and international institutions and entities to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections on August 9.
