The closed door meeting which was held at State House Nairobi was attended by 11 governors including Peter Munya (Meru), Evans Kidero (Nairobi), Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni) and Jack Ranguma (Kisumu)/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 10 – President Uhuru Kenyatta Wednesday held a meeting with Governors to discuss “the security preparedness ahead of the 2017 General Elections.”
The closed door meeting which was held at State House Nairobi was attended by 11 governors including Peter Munya (Meru), Evans Kidero (Nairobi), Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni) and Jack Ranguma (Kisumu).
On Tuesday, the Head of State indicated that there will be no preferred candidates during the polls and stated that each contender will have to be elected democratically.
He further pointed out that party nominations will be carried out by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries to ensure transparency and fairness in the process.
He reiterated his assurance that nominations in the new party will be guided by democracy.
President Kenyatta said anyone aspiring to contest on the Jubilee Party ticket should rest assured that he or she will be treated equally.
Among the issues agreed at the meeting was that any person that engages in incitement or hateful speech will have stern action taken against them irrespective of status or position.
“We must be clear that we shall not balkanize the country for whatever reason or purpose,” a statement issued at the meeting said.
It was also agreed that security agencies have been given the full mandate, in terms of existing laws, to deal with perpetrators of hate speech and incitement according to the law.
“Particular attention and action will be taken should there be misuse of social media and vernacular broadcasters, and especially radio stations in the propagation of hate speech or incitement,” they agreed.
There was consensus that security arrangements between the National Government and County Governments will be operationalised through, among other issues, the launch of the County Policing Authority, which coordinates National Government and County Governments on policing issues.
“The National Government and the County Governments will collaborate on speedy issuance of National Identification Cards to ensure that all eligible Kenyans have the ID cards and can participate in elections as is their constitutional right.”
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