The Mandate about NCIC that Many Kenyans Don’t Know

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission has been on the receiving end from the general public concerning the hatemongering that has been flying around Kenya’s political atmosphere.

In all the condemnation about the NCIC, however, many Kenyans seem not to understand the real mandate of NCIC and it is supposed to do. I have decided to let Kenyans know what NCIC stands for and what is expected of the commission. This is not to defend the commission on where it might have gone wrong but in most cases, we have been bashing them wrongly on things that are not within their fold.

NCIC is a statutory body that was established under the National Cohesion and Integration Act of 2008. The commission is mandated to facilitate the elimination of all forms of ethnic discrimination and proactively promote tolerance, understanding, and acceptance of diversity, peaceful coexistence and unity.

The commission is also mandated with facilitating and promoting equal opportunity, good relations, harmony and peaceful co-existence of persons of different ethnic and racial communities and advice the government on all matters thereof.

It is also under the mandate of the commission to eliminate all forms of ethnic and racial discrimination and discourage persons, institutions, political parties and associations from advocating or promoting discrimination, enhance tolerance, understanding, and acceptance of diversity in all aspects of national life.

Other roles of the commission include:

• Promoting respect for religious cultural and linguistic diversity in a plural society.
• Promoting, supervising, coordinating and promoting the educational and training program to create public awareness, support, and advancement of peace and harmony among ethnic communities and racial groups.
• Promote arbitration, conciliation, mediation and similar forms of conflict resolution mechanisms.
• Investigate complaints of discrimination and make recommendations to the Attorney General, Human Rights Commission or other authority on remedial measures to be taken where such complaints are valid.
• Investigate on its own accord or on request from any institution, office, or person any issue affecting ethnic and racial relations.
• Initiate, lobby for and advocate for policy, legal or administrative reforms on issues affecting ethnic relations.
• Undertake research and studies and make recommendations to the Government on any issue relating to ethnic affairs including whether ethnic relations are improving.
• Monitor and report to the National Assembly the status and success of implementation of its recommendations.

Wondering about the mandate of NCIC? There you have it.