Tuesday, August 21, 2012

“STOP RAILA NOW” and “STOP UHURU NOW” Facebook pages in TROUBLE


“STOP RAILA NOW” and “STOP UHURU NOW” Facebook pages in TROUBLE


Tuesday August 21,2012 - The National Cohesion and Integration Commission(NCIC) Chairman  Mzalendo Kibunjia has said  he is investigating hate speech messages  on social media  targeting Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

Kibunjia said he has received complaints of a campaign on Facebook seeking to block Raila and Uhuru from vying for presidency in the March 2013 general election.

“The NCIC has received reports of the “stop Raila now” and “stop Uhuru now” Facebook pages,” Kibunjia said.

Kibunjia, whose term expires today, said he has instructed the NCIC legal investigations and complaints department to work with the NCIC cyber crime unit and curtail the vice.

By Monday morning, the anti-Raila page had 11,082 people liking it and a further 6,011 had posted comments either approving it or against it. The anti -Uhuru page had 3,551 liking it and further 3,372 had posted comments on it.

Kibunjia said his commission had set up a department to deal with materials posted on sites like Facebook and Twitter and the monitoring will be intense as the country approaches March 4 general election.

Under NCIC Act 2008, anyone convicted for sending abusive messages through social media risks facing three years in prison or a fine of Sh 1 million or both.

The Kenyan DAILY POST

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