The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has arrested a 32-year-old man accused of making remarks allegedly intended to incite ethnic hatred, hostility and violence against Burundian nationals living and working in Kenya.
The suspect, identified as Kevin Odiwuor Otieno, alias Engineer Kevin, was arrested by detectives from the DCI Buruburu office following remarks he allegedly made during a Bunge la Mwananchi gathering at Jacaranda Grounds in Kayole, Nairobi.
According to the DCI, the remarks were captured on video and subsequently circulated widely across social media platforms, prompting detectives to commence investigations.
The agency said preliminary investigations had established that the utterances were directed at Burundian nationals residing in Kenya and participating in various economic activities, including employment.
The arrest comes amid heightened public debate over the treatment of foreign nationals in Kenya, particularly following several incidents involving alleged xenophobic or discriminatory remarks against migrants from neighbouring East African countries.
DCI statement on the arrest
In its statement, the DCI said detectives were examining the circumstances and intention behind the remarks as part of investigations into possible offences relating to hate speech and ethnic incitement.
The agency said Otieno is expected to face a charge of hate speech contrary to Section 13(1)(a), as read with Section 62 of the National Cohesion and Integration Act, alongside any other charges that may emerge from the ongoing investigations.
He is scheduled to be arraigned in court as investigations continue.
The DCI reiterated that freedom of expression is protected under Kenya’s Constitution but stressed that the right has limitations where speech crosses into hate speech, ethnic incitement or advocacy of violence.
Article 33 of the Constitution protects freedom of expression but specifically excludes propaganda for war, incitement to violence, hate speech and advocacy of hatred that amounts to ethnic incitement or incitement to cause harm.
What the law says about hate speech
Section 13 of the National Cohesion and Integration Act criminalises threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour where the person intends to stir up ethnic hatred, or where ethnic hatred is likely to be stirred up in the circumstances.
The law defines ethnic hatred broadly to include hatred directed at a group based on nationality, citizenship, race, colour or ethnic or national origins.
A person convicted under the provision may face a fine of up to KSh1 million, imprisonment for up to three years, or both.
The law therefore covers not only attacks directed at Kenyan ethnic communities but can also apply where nationality is the basis for the alleged hatred.
DCI warns against targeting foreigners
The investigative agency said Kenya is a diverse country inhabited by people from different ethnic communities and nationalities, including foreign nationals who live and work in the country.
It warned that targeting individuals or communities because of their nationality or ethnicity, particularly where such conduct is intended to promote hatred, hostility or violence, would not be tolerated.
The DCI further cautioned members of the public against taking the law into their own hands or engaging in conduct that could undermine peace and public order.
The agency said its detectives would continue monitoring both public and online spaces for content and conduct considered capable of threatening national cohesion, public safety and peaceful coexistence.
Burundians in Kenya
The development also highlights the increasingly sensitive conversation surrounding the presence of East African nationals in Kenya and their participation in the country’s economy.
Burundian nationals are among the foreign communities living and working in Kenya, while Kenya and Burundi are both members of the East African Community (EAC), which promotes regional integration, movement of people, trade and economic cooperation among member states.
Concerns over xenophobia have surfaced previously, including after a viral incident involving a Burundian tea vendor in Kenya sparked public debate and drew attention from officials in both countries.
The latest arrest therefore comes against a broader backdrop of calls for Kenyans to distinguish legitimate political and economic debate from statements that could encourage hostility against particular communities or nationalities.
DCI’s warning to social media users
The arrest also underscores the increasing scrutiny placed on social media content by Kenyan investigators.
In a separate recent case, the DCI arrested a man accused of publishing social media content amounting to hate speech and ethnic contempt, citing Sections 13 and 62 of the National Cohesion and Integration Act.
The agency warned that constitutional freedom of expression does not provide a licence to sow division, incite hatred or threaten national stability.
Kenyan courts have likewise emphasised the responsibility of people participating in public meetings and using social media to avoid content that promotes hatred, discrimination, hostility or violence.
The DCI has urged members of the public to report information relating to activities that threaten peace and national cohesion while warning that individuals found culpable will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
For Otieno, the next major step will be his court appearance, where investigators are expected to present the allegations surrounding the remarks made at the Kayole gathering.
He remains an accused person and is presumed innocent unless and until a court of law determines otherwise.
The DCI’s position is particularly important here because the allegations involve nationality-based hostility, which the National Cohesion and Integration Act expressly recognises within its definition of ethnic hatred.
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