National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah/ FILENational Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah has called for the tabling of the official list of Officers Commanding Police Stations (OCSs) in Nairobi county to counter what he described as false claims circulating on social media over the ethnic composition of the officers.
Speaking in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Ichung'wah said the request followed the circulation of a fake list purporting to show that OCSs serving in Nairobi were drawn from one community.
He said the document had been used to fuel ethnic profiling and misinformation, making it necessary for Parliament to obtain and publish the authentic list from the National Police Service (NPS).
"There is somebody or there is a group of people that was circulating a fake list. I have been made to know by none other than the police service that the list that was being circulated on social media last night of OCSs purportedly from one community is a fake list," Ichung'wah told the House.
He said Kenya was increasingly facing the challenge of misinformation and disinformation, warning that fabricated information was now being weaponised to profile communities along ethnic lines.
"We are in an age where misinformation, disinformation and unfortunately now it is getting to a stage where we are using that disinformation for ethnic profiling," he said.
The Majority Leader said Parliament had a responsibility to protect both communities and institutions such as the National Police Service from false narratives capable of undermining public confidence.
Ichung'wah urged the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security to liaise with the Ministry of Interior and the National Police Service and table the official list of Nairobi OCSs before the House.
He said publishing the authentic list would help set the record straight and expose those behind what he termed a malicious campaign.
"I wanted your indulgence, Honourable Speaker, to direct the Chair of the Security Committee to table before the House the actual list of all the Officers Commanding Police Stations in Nairobi County so that the hate mongers and the ethnic bigots who are using that list out there may be put to shame," he said.
Ichung'wah further argued that it had become common for individuals to generate false documents, circulate them online and use them to advance ethnic narratives.
"We have a responsibility as leaders not only to inform the country but also to set the record straight because it has now become customary that you just generate a fake list, circulate it on social media and now use it as a basis to profile ethnic communities," he added.
The request received support from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security, Gabriel Tongoyo, who told the House that he had personally contacted Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja over the matter.
Tongoyo said the Inspector General had confirmed that the circulating list was fake and had been created in bad faith.
"I personally got in touch with the IG and I can confirm, without necessarily looking for any other response, that it is fake, it is malicious and done in bad faith," Tongoyo said.
He assured the House that the committee would obtain the official information from the National Police Service and table the authentic Nairobi OCS list before Parliament on Thursday afternoon.
Speaker Moses Wetang'ula directed Tongoyo to present the information to the House as requested.
Minority Leader Junet Mohamed also backed the proposal, warning that social media had become a major platform for spreading misinformation capable of fuelling ethnic tensions.
He urged the committee to go beyond tabling the list and examine how existing cybercrime laws could be used to curb online incitement and the circulation of false information.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro similarly supported the move, saying the matter should be thoroughly investigated to establish those responsible for creating and circulating the fake list.
He warned against attempts to divide Kenyans through fabricated information and said Parliament had a duty to safeguard national unity by confronting misinformation before it escalated into ethnic tension.
