The election campaign period in Kenya is typically hectic for the statutory body that keeps tabs on inflammatory speech on political platforms and the media. This is hardly surprising for a public watchdog formed in response to the 2007 post-election violence in which more than 1,100 people were killed. Both sides stood accused of inflaming ethnic tensions that had been building up for years.
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission was formed at the end of the violence in 2008 to promote national identity and values. It was charged with mitigating ethno-political competition and ethnically motivated violence, eliminating discrimination on an ethnic, racial or religious basis and promoting national reconciliation and healing.
