Kenya: Protests over talk of assassinating opposition leader

Demonstrations erupted in Kenya's largest slum Tuesday over footage appearing to show a pro-government legislator saying top opposition leader Raila Odinga can be assassinated, an opposition official and witnesses said.

Analysts say the remarks reflect long-simmering tribal tensions that are heating up again, eight years after they exploded into violence that left more than 1,000 people dead in the aftermath of a disputed presidential election. Kenya is holding general elections next year.

A coffin marked with the name of the legislator, Moses Kuria, was burned during Tuesday's protests, said the head of the Orange Democratic Party in Kibera slum, Sam Ochieng. Odinga is the party's leader, and the slum of Kibera is an opposition stronghold.

An Associated Press reporter saw police fire tear gas at demonstrators, who responded with stones.

Kuria and seven other legislators have been questioned by police over remarks that police say may amount to hate speech. The legislators include four opposition members of parliament who threatened to storm the office of the police chief if he doesn't take action against Kuria.

In a video shot at a party over the weekend, Kuria apparently refers to recent opposition demonstrations to remove Kenya's electoral commission, which the protesters accuse of corruption and bias.

“He should be careful because he can as well bite a bullet,” Kuria says. “We won't be disturbed by one person. He can bite a bullet, we bury him the next Monday, they (Odinga supporters) throw stones for one week and life continues, isn't it so?'' He made the remarks in his mother tongue, Kikuyu.

At a press briefing, Tuesday held at Ol Lerai Jumuia Place, Nairobi, religious leaders in Kenya have responded by calling on the Kenyan government to curb hate speech and war mongering in the country.

The Nairobi-based Catholic Church news agency CISA reports that the religious leaders issued a statement urging the government to deal with growing hate speech rhetoric. The leaders who signed up to the statement are the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB); The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK); Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK); Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM); National Muslim Leaders Forum (NAMLEF); Organization of Africa Instituted Churches (OAIC) and Seventh Day Adventist Church.

 “We have taken note of the rising cases of hate speech and war mongering associated with particular politicians. This trend is worrying and must not be allowed to take root in the country’s political culture,” the religious leaders said

The statement was read by Catholic Bishop,  Cornelius Korir, who is the Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops-Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) and by Canon Peter Karanja, General Secretary of National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK).

(Source: AP; CISA in Kenya)

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