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A dispatch from the Presidential Press Service directed agencies to act firmly against all those threatening national peace and security/FILE

Kenya

Cabinet cautions politicians on ‘emotive’ issues

A dispatch from the Presidential Press Service directed agencies to act firmly against all those threatening national peace and security/FILE

A dispatch from the Presidential Press Service directed agencies to act firmly against all those threatening national peace and security/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 8 – The Cabinet on Thursday added its voice to institutions and individuals calling on politicians to go slow on “emotive” issues during ongoing campaigns.

The Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of President Mwai Kibaki noted that tensions had been amplified due to utterances that are highly divisive and inflammatory in the ongoing political drive.

A dispatch from the Presidential Press Service directed agencies to act firmly against all those threatening national peace and security.

“The Cabinet noted with great concern the heightened tensions arising from the ongoing political campaigns and urged politicians to avoid emotive and sensational utterances that are inflammatory, abusive, and pit communities/people against each other,” the statement said.

The Cabinet also directed Internal Security Minister Katoo ole Metito to ensure adequate security arrangements are in place before, during and after the March 4 general election.

Metito was also directed to deal decisively with all criminal gangs currently posing threats to national security as well as those engaged in cattle rustling.

Earlier in the week, the National Police Service as well as the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) also urged politicians to trade carefully with the highly emotive land issue to avoid whipping up emotions.

NCIC chairman Mzalendo Kibunjia censured politicians on Monday for manipulating the land issue in their campaigns for their benefit oblivious of the repercussions.

“We must not accept leaders who incite us on the basis of historical injustices that we have agreed as a nation and even formed institutions to resolve them. None of them can resolve those issues in a month’s time so why are you inciting us on issues that you cannot resolve?” he posed.

The Cabinet also directed the Minister for Forestry and Wildlife to Noah Wekesa to immediately act to eliminate the poaching menace from national parks and private conservancies, following the killing of elephants and rhinos by poachers in the recent past.

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The Cabinet wants a multi-agency security team deployed in all parks and other areas with the aim of protecting elephants and rhinos from poachers.

Already, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has suspended two top officials in the midst of investigations into rampant poaching that has decimated elephant herds.

Last month, a family of 11 elephants was massacred by poachers in the vast Tsavo East National Park in what KWS said was the worst in the country in the past three decades.

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