NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 25- Ledama Ole Kina, the fiery Narok Senator was freed late Tuesday without charges, following arrest over remarks considered hate speech, which he made at a Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) rally at the weekend.
He was held at Kilimani Police station after questioning by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) officers who arrested him with the help of detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Police said he will be charged next week on Tuesday after the conclusion of the ongoing investigations.
“The Senator is out on free bond,” a senior police officer said, “he will face charges next week.”
In his remarks that appear to be driving him to trouble, Ole Kina was categorical that the Maasai people should be addressed adequately and separately from those of the non-Maa community.
“A coward dies a thousand times, a soldier dies once,” the Senator said when asked by a journalist why he appeared shaken during the encounter with detectives outside Royal Media Services, “I am ready.”
A day to the BBI meeting, the Senator had made remarks considered t be controversial; “In the morning, those who are non-Maasai held a meeting in Rongai. We held our meeting at the Maasai Lodge. We were there to articulate our issues. Maasai issues will be better articulated by Maasais and am not going to apologise for that.”
Ole Kina said he believes the Maasai community is oppressed on their own land and vowed to advocate for their rights.
“I will defend the Maasai community to the end,” he insisted.
While at the NCIC offices, the Senator recorded a video addressed to his community, saying he will not relent in fighting for justice.
“This is a message to the Maasai nation, I am involved in a quest for truth and justice. No amount of intimidation is going to deter me,” he asserted.
He was arrested after an outcry from members of the public and a section of Jubilee lawmakers, who termed his remarks as a recipe for chaos.
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