The rejection, in a referendum, of the 2005 amendment to the Constitution sowed seeds of discord.

Incidents in villages in Molo, Kuresoi and Olenguruone where residents profiled neighbours based on tribe and proceeded to evict them from their homes and lands were soon to gain traction. Other hotspots in the Rift Valley quickly picked the cue that non-natives can be kicked out of their homes and the government will resettle them elsewhere as others take over their property.

In the run-up to the 2007 General-Election, politicians took advantage of the situation and poisoned the electorate, that all their problems were as a result of members of other communities, whom they branded Madoadoa, among them. The aftermath of the campaign was more than 1,300 lives lost and more than 500,000 rendered homeless.

One lesson learnt from the violence was that profiling people based on their tribe for political reasons is to be highly discouraged. Barely five months to the August election and the Madoadoa tag is back.

First, it was Meru Senator Mithika Linturi who used it in Rift Valley to the chagrin of many. The second was ODM leader Raila Odinga who used the word in northern Kenya, baffling many. Whereas the leaders have come out to clarify their remarks, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission has said more needs to be done.

Linturi was hauled to court but the Director of Public Prosecutions said the case could not be prosecuted. NCIC has come out to castigate the DPP for failing to prosecute the case as a deterrent to other politicians using hate speech in campaigns.

NCIC says the DPP has hatched a scheme to assist high-ranking influential personalities to evade justice. The commission further says the move has made them a laughing stock and perceived as a toothless bulldog. In response, the DPP has rubbished the claims as utter nonsense. However, the allegations are weighty. It is sad the commission feels the DPP is sabotaging its efforts to end hate speech.

The two institutions work for the good of Kenyans and such revelations only put a damper on efforts to rein in miscreants in the campaigns. It would have been better if the issues were resolved behind the scenes, but now that they are out in the public we urge the DPP to clear the allegations and the NCIC to present watertight cases for ease of prosecution. At the end of the day let’s clean our campaigns.