Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid at a past event. [Photo/ hrw.org]
Haki Africa, a human rights lobby based in Mombasa has cautioned politicians against making reckless remarks during campaign rallies.Addressing journalists in Mombasa on Tuesday, Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid said political fights will have a negative impact on national unity and the peaceful co-existence enjoyed by different communities in the country.Khalid said campaigns ahead of the October 17 repeat presidential election have been reduced to insults and personal fights, adding that President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA leader Raila Odinga should refrain from abusive utterances.He said if politicians do not change their ways, the utterances might plunge the country into chaos during the October 17 polls.“Politicians are tossing the country around like a ball. When will they practice politics of unity and coexistence? We are tired of the insults being hurled at the opposition, they too have a right to conduct their campaigns,” said Khalid.He said Jubilee politicians need to be questioned on how they have been conducting themselves lately.He said the move to resort to using insults might be as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to nullify President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election, adding that should not be the case as the Judiciary is an independent arm of government which has been executing its mandate accordingly.“It is through these insults that the country witnessed chaos, displacement and deaths in the 2007 general election. We must avert a repeat of the post-poll violence by taming our tongues,” he added.Khalid appealed to Uhuru and Raila to conduct their campaigns in a peaceful manner.