The Milimani Magistrate’s Court has scheduled a full hearing for the hate speech case involving Mumias East MP Peter Salasya, following the breakdown of reconciliation efforts before the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC).
Senior Resident Magistrate Paul Mutai set the hearing for January 17, 2026, after being informed that conciliation could not proceed due to the expiry of the NCIC commissioners’ term.
Prosecutor Virginia Kariuki told the court that the Commission, mandated to promote dialogue and national harmony, could not facilitate the talks as its tenure had ended before the process could begin. “The conciliation proceedings stalled following the expiry of the Commission’s term,” Kariuki explained.
Magistrate Mutai noted that the case had been delayed long enough and emphasized that the judiciary cannot rely on an inactive institution to mediate criminal matters. “Justice must continue even in the absence of the Commission,” he stated.
Last month, the court had approved the prosecution’s request to refer the case to the NCIC in a bid to explore reconciliation, in line with the Commission’s mandate to resolve disputes through dialogue and potentially avoid a full trial.
With the NCIC’s term expired, several other hate speech cases referred for conciliation have also been thrown into uncertainty. Magistrate Mutai questioned why the Commission had not been involved earlier, noting that the NCIC’s preventive role should ideally precede criminal prosecution.
The prosecution clarified that while the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the NCIC operate independently, the two offices regularly cooperate in handling hate speech complaints.
The case against MP Salasya stems from remarks he allegedly made at a public event earlier this year, which the DPP described as inflammatory and capable of inciting ethnic tension.
