NAKURU, Kenya, Sep 14 – Kapsaret lawmaker Oscar Sudi will spend an additional two days in custody after the court allowed investigators more time to conclude forensic examination of a recording on alleged hate remarks.
Sudi was presented before Nakuru Chief Magistrate Josephat Kalu on Monday where the prosecution through a miscellaneous application sought to hold him for fourteen days to allow time for investigation.
The State told the court it intended to charge the vocal lawmaker with five counts of hate speech, assaulting a police officer, offensive conduct, resisting arrest and being illegal possession of a firearm.
Sudi surrendered to the police on Sunday after a futile two-day search for him by a contingent of police officers deployed at his rural residence.
He was grilled by detectives from the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) in reference to remarks he made that authorities said could have resulted in breach of peace.
The vocal legislator is also accused of hurling insults at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s mother, Mama Ngina.
Efforts to arrest the vocal lawmaker on Friday night were blocked by a section of residents who barricaded the Kapseret-Eldoret road leading to his residence.
Sudi later presented himself at the Kapseret Sub-County Police headquarters on Sunday morning from where he was flown to Nakuru using a police helicopter.
Sudi’s remarks mirror those made by Emukua Dikirr lawmaker Johanna Ng’eno who faced hate speech and incitement charges. He was later freed on bail.
The Kapseret however remained adamant on his refusal to apologize for remarks targeting President Kenyatta’s family saying, “Kenya does not belong to them.”
Deputy President William Ruto had prevailed upon politicians to quit insults amid a resurgence in name-calling pitting his supporters against the President’s.
“Leaders should exercise restraint and avoid insults and bad language against other Kenyans. Unsavoury words against mothers and Head of State is a NO, NO. No amount of anger justifies use of offensive insulting language. There exists decent ways to communicate however one feels,” the DP tweeted on September 7.
Sudi and Ng’eno accused President Kenyatta of sidelining Ruto in an administration he campaigned selflessly to ascend to power, saying the second in command had be reduces to a squatter in a government he was elected to serve.
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