National Cohesion and Integration Commission chairperson Samuel Kobia has said hate speech and ethnic contempt cases have gone down.
Kobia attributed this to continuous engagement with the public.
"The Commission has continued to monitor hate speech cases both on social media and other public platforms," he said
Kobia stated that the Commission received 67 cases out of which 43 are under various stages of investigation, two are before the court, 13 have been concluded and 13 others conciliated as provisions of the NCI Act 2008.
He spoke on Monday during a press briefing on the state of peace and cohesion in Kenya.
“In regards to Social Media platforms, the Commission flagged 44 cases on discrimination, 24 on incitement, six on hate speech, 93 on misinformation, and 68 on disinformation - totalling 268 cases,” he said
While addressing the issue of organized armed youth criminal gangs he noted that the commission has witnessed killings and attacks by these groups.
"While it is true that this social phenomenon of young people is a result of lack of formal employment their regrouping and engagement in criminal acts poses a threat to the fragile social cohesion fabric," he said.
To address the challenge, Kobia noted that the commission has established the Peace to the City Initiative program whose inaugural activity is to convene the Vulnerable Youth Summit in Nairobi in July.
He also commended the government's efforts of opening up more security centres as well as intensifying the operation to weed out the criminals thereby serving Citizens respite.
He further underscored the commission’s commitment to ensuring Kenya remains a peaceful society.
“We are committed to ensuring Kenya remains a peaceful society and that the gains made over the last many years are solidified,” he said
