Two lawyers, Felix Kiprono and Vincent Yegon have filed a suit to challenge the ban on the phrase “hatupangwingwi” by the NCIC.
Last week, NCIC through a presser released a list of 19 words that the commission labeled as hate speech. The list contains commonly used words such as ‘hatupangwingwi’ and ‘kama noma noma’.
Also on the list is the ‘madoa doa’ phrase linked to the 2007/08 post-election violence that left more than 1,100 people dead and 600,000 others displaced. Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga and Meru Senator Mithika Linturi were recently summoned by NCIC over the slur.
NCIC Chairman Samuel Kobia said the words have the potential to incite violence between two or more ethnic communities in Kenya.
Read: ‘Uncircumcised, Hatupangwingwi’ Among 19 Words Declared As Hate Speech By NCIC
“We have therefore taken the bull by its horns through this exercise of identifying terms and coded language that have been commonly used in Kenya’s political landscape with the intent to incite violence against various communities of differing political stances,” said Kobia.
Just moments after the NCIC released the list of banned words, DP William Ruto and his allies released the remix of “Hatupangwingwi” song as way of rebelion.
DP William Ruto and allies release "Hatupangwingwi" remix moments after NCIC banned the phrase among 18 others. pic.twitter.com/kX5SvE4ti5
— Yangu Ni Yangu (@YanguNiYangu) April 8, 2022
In the most recent development, the aforementioned lawyers have challenged the ban on the phrase “hatupangwingwi.”
Here is the full list of the phrases banned:
- Uncircumcised
- Fumigation
- Eliminate
- Kill
- Kaffir
- Madoa doa
- Chunga Kura
- Kama noma noma
- Kwekwe
- Mende
- Hatupangwingwi
- Operation Linda kura
- Watu wa kurusha mawe
- Watajua hawajui
- Wabara waende kwao
- Wakuja (Those that come)
- Uthamaki ni witu
- Kimurkeldet (Brown teeth)
- Otutu Labatonik (uproot the weed)
Email your news TIPS to Editor@kahawatungu.com or WhatsApp +254707482874. You can also find us on Telegram through www.t.me/kahawatungu
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
