The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has rejected reports suggesting that it “cleared” Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma and Busia Governor Paul Otuoma following investigations into remarks attributed to the two leaders.
In a statement issued on October 3, 2026, NCIC Chairman Bishop Kepha Nyamweya Omae said such characterisations misrepresented the commission’s determinations and incorrectly suggested that the two leaders had been summoned to sanitise their remarks.
The Commission said its investigations found Kaluma’s speech to be “intemperate, ambiguous and dangerous in its reasonably understood meaning,” creating an appreciable risk of political intimidation.
In Otuoma’s case, the NCIC said his remarks were “threatening and exclusionary in context” and were likely to stir hostility against residents and traders perceived as outsiders on the basis of ethnic or national origin.
The Commission said the findings were serious and did not amount to an endorsement or exoneration of the language used by either leader.
Instead, it issued immediate cessation notices and directed corrective measures, including public clarification, withdrawal or correction of harmful messaging and peace engagements at the respondents’ own reasonable cost.
The NCIC said the determinations were reached after assessing evidence under the National Cohesion and Integration Act, the Constitution and other relevant laws.
The commission further cited Section 61(2) of the National Cohesion and Integration Act, which requires it, where it is satisfied after investigations that a person has contravened Part III of the Act, to make reasonable efforts to reconcile the matter.
It said the reconciliation process in the Kaluma matter should therefore not be interpreted as favouritism or an attempt to sanitise harmful speech.
The commission added that both determinations provide for further compliance action if reconciliation fails to achieve a satisfactory resolution, including the issuance of appropriate compliance notices under Sections 56 and 57, with enforcement governed by Section 58.
Bishop Omae said the media had a responsibility to report the commission’s findings accurately and fairly, noting that portraying the respondents as having been “cleared” gave the public an incomplete and misleading account of the determinations.
The NCIC chairman called on media houses that had published or broadcast what the commission described as misleading characterisations to issue prompt corrections and give them prominence commensurate with the original reports.
