A magistrate has banned Tana River Senator Ali Abdi Bule from addressing journalists and visiting parts of Tana River County until an incitement case against him is heard and determined.
The State has charged the senator with threatening to arm his Orma people and to violently evict the Giriamas from parts of Tana River County.
He allegedly incited the public through a speech he delivered at Kanagoni where several people were killed and hundreds displaced in violence between the pastoralists and farmers.
Bule surrendered to the magistrate's court in Mombasa on Monday following a warrant of arrest that was issued against him.
Hundreds of people turned up in court to listen to the senator plead to the charges. Surrounded by police, Bule appeared calm and composed and kept smiling as the charges were read out.
The senator, who was allegedly recorded issuing threats against the Giriama community on July 15 this year, denied the charges. Mombasa Principal Magistrate Diana Mochache released him on a bond of Sh500,000.
The magistrate released him on condition that he does not set foot at Kanagoni where he uttered the alleged hate speech.
She rejected Bule's application to be released on a Sh50,000 bond. "That bond can be given to suspects who have stolen a crate of soda. I therefore order that the accused be released on a bond of Sh1 million or cash bail of Sh500,000," said the magistrate.
She banned the accused from going to Kanagoni. "He shall not go to attend the funeral of his relative. If you decide to go you must ask the court for permission. If he disobeys the court order, I shall cancel the bond," she said.
The senator denied that on July 15 this year, at Kurakal Centre in Garsen, Tana River County, he uttered the words: "Nitahakikisha Wagiriama wote watarudi mahali wametoka."
The senator denied another charge that on the same day he told the Giriama that he would buy pangas that would be used in slashing them while being driven out of the county.
The second charge stated that he uttered the words: "Nyinyi wagiriama nitanunua panga ishirini na nitawapa watu wangu ama nyinyi wagiriama mtakatwa kichwa," words the prosecution says were intended to instil fear and hostility among Giriama community.
Senior Director of Public Prosecutions Alex Muteti did not oppose the release of the senator on bond but applied to have him given conditions to follow.
The court banned the senator from granting interviews to journalists, going to Kanagoni, discussing the matter on social media and making public utterances about the case.
The magistrate ordered the prosecution to present 18 witness from December 9 to 11 so that the case can be heard within three days.
Meanwhile, terror suspect Luqman Khatib denied charges of with robbery with violence, unleashing violence on police and being in possession of military uniform. He denied all the charges and was released on a bond of Sh500,000 with a similar surety in each offence.
