Mwakwere hate speech case on hold

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Environment minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere. A hate speech case against him failed to start August 9, 2012. FILE 

By PAUL OGEMBA
Posted  Thursday, August 9  2012 at  10:36

A hate speech case against Environment minister Chirau Mwakwere failed to start Thursday.

A Nairobi court heard that the minister had not been served with summons to appear before it to answer the charges.

Principal Magistrate Lucy Nyambura directed that the Matuga MP be properly served and appear in court next Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Mr Mwakwere lost an attempt to temporarily block his arrest and prosecution over hate speech charges.

Lady Justice Florence Muchemi declined to give an order stopping the police from arresting the Environment minister, only certifying the application as urgent.

Mr Mwakwere could lose his Cabinet post in the event that he is prosecuted.

The minister had filed an urgent application at the High Court seeking to stop the Director of Public Prosecutions and the police from arresting him until an appeal he has filed against the decision to prosecute him was heard and determined.

Through lawyer Waweru Gatonye, the minister claimed his imminent arrest and prosecution could cause him to vacate his ministerial office yet his appeal would not have been heard and determined.

“If the petitioner is charged with the alleged offence, he shall be required to step aside from the office of minister for Environment in compliance with Chapter Six of the Constitution which is now a matter of political practice,” said Mr Gatonye.

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The Matuga MP argued the intended prosecution was not only unfair but also discriminatory since a court had ruled that the Mombasa Republican Council had a constitutional right to agitate about the same historical grievances he was fighting for and which he was being accused of as hate speech.

Mr Mwakwere said he had been misunderstood.

The MP told individuals and groups he may have wronged that he was willing to apologise either in private or even in public.

“In my 45 years as a public servant, I have wronged no one and I have always been a peace advocate. If I have wronged anyone let him come out and I will be willing to apologise,” he said in his office in Nairobi.

He said Coast residents were not violent, did not want to secede and were willing to solve challenges afflicting them through dialogue.

Peace loving people

“There is no group in Coast Province that wants to cause chaos or division in our country. We (Coast people) are peace-loving and even though there are challenges of historical nature, the people are willing to dialogue to find solutions,” he said.

He said he had served the country diligently for more than 45 years and that it was wrong to portray him as a warlord.

“There are people who view me as a model leader who always advocates for peace and it pains that there are also others who think I am a warlord,” he noted.

In the event that the minister is prosecuted before his application is determined, he will be expected to leave his Cabinet position and can only be reinstated after being cleared by the court.