A petition has been filed in the High Court seeking the removal of Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga from office for remarks that were ethnic and inciteful, allegedly diluting national cohesion and harmony.
The case tracks closely the emergence of a viral video where the governor suggested that the death of the ex-Prime Minister Raila Odinga would witness government development projects shift from the Nyanza area to Mt Kenya.
The petition, filed by Bunge la Mwananchi together with Lawrence Oyugi, Komeade Bush, and Nicholas Kimanzi, argues that the statements amount to hate speech and gross misconduct in the eyes of the Constitution and relevant integrity laws.
“Mutahi Kahiga, the 1st respondent, is still holding a very powerful and influential office. His insistence on holding that office provides him with a platform to perpetuate and maximize the impugned inflammatory and divisive statements,” stated the petitioners’ court document.
They went on to say that there were also contraventions of several constitutional provisions like Articles 10, 27, 28, 73, and 75, which uphold national values, equality, integrity, and respect for human dignity.
The petitioners warned that such rhetoric risks unleashing ethnic violence of the sort witnessed during the 2007/2008 post-election violence, and requested the court to silence the governor from issuing further incendiary statements.
They also request the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to investigate Kahiga and declare him unfit to hold public office.
If the petition is successful, the governor may be suspended or removed from office.
Following widespread public outcry after his October 17 remarks, Governor Kahiga publicly apologized to the Odinga family and to Kenyans at large. He also resigned as Vice Chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG).
“I deeply regret to our mourning nation, to the Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga family Mama Ida Odinga, their children, Senator Oburu Odinga, Hon. Ruth Odinga to the ODM fraternity, the Luo Nation, and all Kenyans,” he said during a press conference on October 18.
The governor went on to clarify his statement that his words were not intended to mourn the death of Mr Odinga but to indicate unequally distributed development under the current government.
“What I meant is that politically, the passing of Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga takes the nation back to the drawing board,” he continued.