NCIC denies reports it will ban ‘tugege’
By Francis Muli, September 27, 2023
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has rubbished reports that it is planning to ban the use of the term tugege.
The term, now popular among Kenyans, is used to refer to ignorant persons in society. The term, lately, has been targeted on Kenyans who make the wrong political decisions during voting, by ignoring the truth.
“We wish to correct the information being peddled through social media to the effect that the NCIC is planning to ban the term “Tugege”. The Commission disassociates itself from these allegations. Kindly ignore them,” NCIC stated.
NCIC is a statutory body established under the National Cohesion and Integration Act No.12 of 2008.
It is tasked with promoting national identity and values, mitigating ethnopolitical competition and ethnically motivated violence, eliminating discrimination on ethnic, racial and religious basis and promoting national reconciliation and healing.
In April 2022, NCIC banned a number of political phrases in Kenya including madoadoa and watajua hawajui among others.
Among the words and phrases banned at that time include hatupangwingwi, a slang word loosely translated to “we cannot be dictated”.
Other terms that were blacklisted include uncircumcised, fumigation, eliminate, kill, kaffir, chunga kura and kama noma noma.
Others include kwekwe, mende, operation linda kura, watu wa kurusha mawe, watajua hawajui, wabara waende kwao, wakuja (those that come), Uthamaki ni witu (the kingdom is ours), kimurkeldet (Brown teeth), and Otutu Labatonik (uproot the weed).