The Judiciary has announced plans to set up special courts to deal with cases of hate speech as campaigns for the 2022 general elections heat up across the country.
“We are concerned about issues of hate speech. I’m going to put this forward to the leadership committee of the judiciary of a request to set up a specialized court to deal with cases of hate speech,” said Chief Justice Martha Koome on Monday.
Addressing the media in Nairobi, CJ Koome said the special courts will be set up in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, and Kisumu.
The Supreme Court President further divulged plans of expanding the courts to more areas.
“If need be, we will identify other hotspots we will operationalize accords in those hotspots to deal with hate speech so that they are handled expeditiously and according to the law,” she stated.
Koome also noted that the government was working towards supporting the police in boosting efforts to fight gender-based violence, whose reported cases have become rampant.
“We are also concerned about the escalating cases of sexual and gender-based violence across the country and we note what the police is doing and we will continue to support the police and also to talk to Kenyans and ask them to bear agency of their own behavior,” she said.
“The National Crime Information Center has a big role to play in terms of public education on the need for Kenyans to build peace among themselves,” added Koome.
The Chief Justice was attending a meeting by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) leaders and different stakeholders in the government to discuss preparation measures ahead of the 2022 elections.
In attendance also was Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru, Attorney General Kihara Kariuki, among others.