People summoned by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) do not have the option of prioritising their personal engagements. This agency has the legal mandate to enforce compliance.
It is for this reason that the NCIC has warned that arrest warrants will be issued against those who fail to appear before it and that criminal and contempt proceedings may be initiated. If anyone has compelling reasons why they cannot turn up, the agency should be officially notified.
The NCIC is a statutory body whose core mandate is to promote national unity, peace, harmony and equal opportunities among all the ethnic, racial and religious communities.
Under the National Cohesion and Integration Act, the NCIC can summon witnesses, demand documents and examine parties under oath during hate speech or ethnic incitement investigations. Those ignoring its directives risk severe legal consequences.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has declared that he will not honour a summons to appear before the NCIC on August 27. The agency is focusing on the speeches Mr Gachagua has reportedly made at various political rallies since last month.
However, his lawyers have written to the NCIC saying that the date coincides with a foreign trip he had planned. He has also complained that the summons did not contain the full disclosure of the evidence to be used against him.
The former DP is not the only person to have recently come under the NCIC’s radar. The others include Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma. These are just some of the senior personalities alleged to have made inflammatory, discriminatory, or inciting remarks. Their apparent defiance has brought the commission’s enforcement powers under scrutiny.
The commission can and should legally compel these individuals to appear before it for questioning over their public utterances or conduct deemed to threaten the peace.