Are Politicians Sowing The Seed Of Political Violence in Kenya?

The stakes are pretty high, especially in light of senator Linturi's recent utterances at a rally in Eldoret, which would no doubt go a long way towards preempting provocation of hostilities.

As the country approaches the next general elections, there are evident signs of impending dangers. Kenyans are already wondering what may happen if Deputy President William Ruto or ODM Leader Raila Odinga loses the election.

The stakes are pretty high, especially in light of senator Linturi's recent utterances at a rally in Eldoret, which would no doubt go a long way towards preempting provocation of hostilities.

“Sisi tunataka kuwa kwa serikali inayokuja lakini nawaambia watu wa Uasin Gishu msicheze na Kenya na kile nawaomba ni kwamba madoadoa yale mliyonayo hapa muweze kuondoa. Hatuwezi kuwa tukisimama na William Ruto kule Mt Kenya na mko na wengine hapa hawasikii na hawawezi ungana naye” Linturi said.

In Kenya, the term "Madoadoa" has a pejorative connotation since it invokes horrible memories of the 2007-2008 post-election violence (PEV), which resulted in the deaths of 1,300 Kenyans and the displacement of almost 600,000 people. During the skirmishes, Eldoret was one of the hardest impacted areas.

Linturi's remarks, however, are not a unique or even rare event among politicians, especially at this time of heavy political polarization in Kenya.

Oscar Sudi, a Kapsaret politician and staunch Ruto supporter was interrogated by investigators from the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) in 2020 for hate speech statements he made about persons who did not support Deputy President William Ruto in the Rift Valley.

In the same year, Emukua Dikirr lawmaker Johanna Ng'eno, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria, Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri, and Starehe MP Charles Njagua alias Jaguar,

was charged with hate speech and incitement.

The politicization of ethnicity and its use as a tool for political mobilization and contestation is one of Kenyan politics lasting legacies. As such, using hateful speech to delegitimize and dehumanize political opponents is a tried and tested strategy for uniting and mobilizing political supporters and delegitimizing and dehumanizing political opponents.

Political leaders' inflammatory rhetoric does not go away once spoken; instead, it is frequently amplified. Political provocation and hate speech have been proved in the past to assist in modifying discourse norms in our nation, making it more acceptable for a specific ethnic group to insult and attack other ethnic groups.

Hate speech by politicians serves to deepen political polarization. More polarized societies are especially susceptible to bouts of political violence. Our country cannot afford to go into another PEV; leaders must weigh their utterances during campaigns to not sow seeds of insecurity.