Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru after being grilled by NCIC. [Photo: Tabitha Otwori/Standard]

By Lonah Kibet

Housing Assistant minister Margaret Wanjiru was grilled by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) over allegations of hate speech.

Wanjiru is accused of making offensive remarks against her rivals in the Nairobi County gubernatorial race during a campaign last Friday.

She is alleged to have said there were people from Nyanza eyeing the same position as her in Nairobi.

After about an hour, a distraught Wanjiru emerged from the offices and declined to talk to journalists.

On Monday, Juja legislator William Kabogo also appeared before NCIC to record a statement with the investigators and legal officers over allegations of hate speech. Kabogo denied claims he incited Kenyans as the Law Society of Kenya claim.

He is accused of promising to reject any court decision that may stop Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto to run for president in 2013. The Juja MP said he meant they would follow the law to the end by presenting their case to all courts.

He also faces another charge from the Hindu Council of Kenya for allegedly making unflattering remarks against Kenyans of Indian origin.

“My views were misrepresented in the issues regarding Indians by a section of the print media that reported it several times this month,” Kabogo insisted.

He called on the media to be responsible to avoid sparking tension and conflict or plunging individuals into trouble with the law.