Kenyan police have arrested two members of parliament and an assistant minister on charges of hate speech, an official said on Tuesday in the increasingly turbulent run up to an Aug. 4 constitutional referendum.
Preparations for the vote, seen as a crucial step in reforms after post-election violence killed hundreds in 2008, were hit by a weekend attack on a religious meeting, also a rally for the "No" campaign, that killed six and wounded over 100 more.
It is not yet clear who was behind the three grenade blasts in central Nairobi but they have inevitably been linked to the vote despite calls for calm from the government and donors.
Kenyan Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere on Tuesday accused both camps of engaging in hate speech, but the three arrested — MPs Fred Kapondi, Joshua Kutuny and Assistant Minister for Roads Wilfred Machage — are all from the "No" camp.
The politicians were being questioned and could appear in court on Wednesday, Iteere said.
"The law is very clear about hate speech so the president ordered that anybody or any politician who is engaging in hate speech should be arrested," Kenyan government spokesman, Alfred Mutua, told Reuters on Tuesday.
As well as the arrests, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission, a body formed after the post-election crisis, has summoned William Ruto, minister for education and de-facto leader of the "No" campaign, for questioning.
The commission has also called for a ban on all rallies until July 13, the official start of campaigning on the referendum, but the president’s office said on Monday that the process would continue regardless of the blasts.
The new constitution, which curbs sweeping presidential powers and boosts civil liberties, is meant to heal ethnic divisions that have long-dominated Kenyan politics.
But some politicians complain the new charter fails to devolve power to regions and imposes caps on land holdings. Christian leaders also oppose clauses on abortions.
Weeks of violence following hotly contested elections in late 2007 killed 1,300 people, displaced hundreds of thousands and crippled East Africa’s biggest economy.
WORSE LIKELY TO COME
Sunday’s blasts brought back the spectre of violence and Kenyans are nervous politicians will stoke tensions further.
"Much of what they are saying is likely to poison people’s minds. Such talk can only worsen the situation," the Daily Nation, a leading Kenyan daily, said in a Tuesday editorial.
The paper warned that the path to the new constitution was full of saboteurs and had already been long and bloody.
"Worse things are likely to happen as we approach the finish line, which is why we call for maximum vigilance and absolute tolerance of divergent views," it added.
Kenya’s economy has bounced back from the impact of the 2007-2008 violence, as well as the global crisis, and is due to post 4.5 percent growth this year and 5.7 percent in 2011.
But no one has been held accountable for the post-election violence, despite threats by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for senior leaders later this year. And there are concerns that politicians will play on fears over land, especially in the Rift Valley, which was a flashpoint during the post-election violence, which could spill over into violence in the run-up to the constitution.
