The Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights (CCSNH) wants the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to probe the conduct of politicians using bloggers to besmirch their opponents.
This comes amid a surge in rising political tensions in the Port City of Mombasa as netizens used various social media platforms to hurl insults at leaders who disagreed with their school of thought.
The political class were encouraged to uphold high integrity and to control their supporters not to abuse the rights of others.
“It must not be abusive and be seen like an act of a third party. They must be a link,” said CCSNH Chairperson Zedekiah Adika at his office in Tudor, Mombasa.
Adika called for the introduction of the registration of bloggers so that their online conduct could be checked.
“There are a lot of facts that people can engage on and it must not be smeared to lower the dignity of the public of Kenya and the offices within the Republic,” he said.
The Network sympathized with what befell a Mombasa-based blogger Bruce John who was allegedly abducted, assaulted and sodomized over a social media post that irked a top county official.
They condemned the odious act and buttressed the courage of the blogger to speak out when the atrocities were meted against him.
“We condemn fully, it is something that shouldn’t happen to another person whatever the actions that underline his conduct,” he said.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution were commended for their swift action when the case was reported as four suspects were charged at the Shanzu Law Court and more were expected to be arrested in connection with the case.
The agencies were advised to do a thorough probe and charge all parties regardless of their position in government.
“There should not be any form of discrimination against people who meted the atrocities against this gentleman. Investigations should continue and should be much targeted to all persons of interest and planners of this act,” stated Adika.
He added the rights of Public Officers who would be charged should be protected but should step down until the prosecution process is complete so as not to be accused of interfering with investigation.
He urged the Police and the Judiciary to execute their mandates without fear or favour as they handled the public interest case. He called for the protection of witnesses by the Witness Protection Agency.
“The State must move with principles of candor to ensure that all parties are treated within the law,” said Adika.
By Sadik Hassan
