The declaration by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that politicians accused of hate speech will be barred from holding public office should be taken with a pinch of salt.

IEBC boss Ezra Chiloba said the agency would work with the anti-graft agency and the National Integration and Cohesion Commission to ensure that culprits will not contest in the next polls.

For starters, these are some of the most distrusted and ineffective institutions in the country. They are powerless in stopping a person from seeking public office.

Desirable as it may be to stop people who make statements laced with ethnic hate, it is prudent to note that it is only the courts that can stop these public pests, who thrive on the proceeds of tribal disharmony, from holding public office.