Court postpones withdrawal of hate speech case against Mumias East MP pending compliance with NCIC agreement

Milimani court has declined to order the withdrawal of a hate speech case against Mumias East MP after it emerged that the MP had not complied with all sections in the agreement with national cohesion and integration commission (NCIC)Presiding Magistrate Paul Mutai noted and ordered that Salasya is required to carry out a peaceful social media campaign and also hold a jointly and widely covered press conference with NCIC to preach peace before his case is withdrawn.

The court was told that the prosecution had received a written agreement in which Salasya undertook to take specific steps aimed at promoting national unity and peaceful coexistence.

Based on the agreement, the prosecution indicated that it intended to move the court to terminate the case under Section 78A of the Criminal Procedure Code once the terms were fully implemented.

However, the trial magistrate Paul Mutai noted that the agreement imposed clear responsibilities on the MP that were yet to be fulfilled.

The court observed that Salasya was required to publicly apologise through a press conference and to run a social media campaign advocating peace, cohesion and unity among communities.

“These are commitments you voluntarily entered into,” the magistrate stated, adding that the court could not adopt the agreement before confirmation that the conditions had been met.

As a result, the court declined to immediately approve the settlement and instead granted the MP additional time to comply.

“I will not adopt the agreement at this stage. You must first implement the agreed terms, after which the court will consider adopting it,” the magistrate ruled.

The matter was scheduled for mention on a later date to verify compliance and to determine whether the prosecution’s application to withdraw the case would be allowed.

Salasya expressed appreciation to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the NCIC for opting for an out-of-court settlement, saying the move would conserve judicial time.

The charges against the MP stem from remarks he allegedly made at a public forum last year, which the DPP argues were inflammatory and likely to fuel ethnic animosity.