The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has named all counties in the Coast region as hot spots of hate speech.
The commission said all the six counties in this region have hit the headlines on several accounts because of cases of hate speech.
Mombasa, Kilifi, Tana River, Taita Taveta, Kwale, and Lamu are among the 33 counties that have been found to be prone to incidents of hate speech.
NCIC Commissioner Morris Dzoro attributed the situation to the fact that all the presidential aspirants in the country are eying votes from the region.
“Presidential contenders have shown interest in the Coast vote and this has made this region a hot spot for hate speech,” said Dzoro, as quoted by the Standard.
He, however, said the commission is ready to arrest and prosecute individuals who will spread hate during this campaigns period.
He unveiled the commission's plan to dispatch a special unit in different regions to monitor incidents of hate speech.
NCIC Commissioner Roba Sharamo said they were already training security personnel on how to monitor and investigate hate speech in the nation.
“We have a report which shows 33 counties are traditionally considered hot spots. Hate speech is a threat in Kenya and we are building capacity for police officers to enable them investigate suspects,” he said.