Dadaab Member of Parliament Farah Maalim has complied with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission’s (NCIC) summons to record a statement regarding his contentious remarks about Gen Z protestors. The MP was summoned after a video surfaced in which he allegedly stated that he would have killed at least 5,000 Gen Z protestors if he were president during the anti-government demonstrations.
The NCIC expressed concern that Maalim’s comments could incite contempt, violence, and disrupt the peace among individuals with differing political views in Kenya. “The utterances are likely to incite feelings of contempt, hatred, hostility, violence, or discrimination, and affect harmonious coexistence between groups of different political affiliations in Kenya, contrary to Section 13 (1) (a) of the NCI Act,” stated the commission.
Initially, Maalim had missed the commission’s summons on Monday, claiming in a subsequent press conference that he had arranged with the NCIC to appear at a later date.
The MP has faced significant backlash for his remarks, with public outcry demanding his arrest. Maalim, however, denied inciting violence, asserting that the video had been edited to misrepresent his statements. “The video making the rounds has been edited. It’s all cutting and pasting, taking a word from here and putting it together. It is Somalis who basically would do that, for other reasons, because I also weighed in on the politics of Somalia,” he said during an interview on KTN News.
His comments have also strained his political career. Maalim was removed from his position as deputy party leader of the Wiper Democratic Movement and was later expelled from the Sarovah Whitesands Beach Resort in Mombasa. The hotel’s Managing Director, Jimi Kariuki, emphasized that the resort did not support Maalim’s inflammatory remarks. “He is no longer a guest at our hotel. We asked him to leave the hotel earlier in the day. We do not in any way condone his inflammatory and threatening statements against Kenyans and will not associate our brand with such a person,” Kariuki stated.
In a press conference on Monday, Maalim reiterated his innocence, denying the allegations of incitement. “I never called for the death of any Kenyans. I didn’t and I will never call for it,” he said. He defended his integrity, stating, “I am a very honest person. For over 30 years of being in the politics of this country, I am one person who has had a track record that is matched by very few people.”