The owners of Business Bay Square (BBS Mall) in Nairobi’s Eastleigh neighbourhood have petitioned the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to investigate, censure, and recommend the prosecution of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over remarks they say amount to ethnic contempt, hate speech, and conduct that undermines national unity and cohesion.
Through their lawyers, MMA Advocates, the mall’s proprietors have written to NCIC Chairperson Dr Samuel Kobia, accusing Gachagua of making inflammatory and defamatory statements during a church service on 4 January 2026 at AIPCA Kiratina Church in Githunguri, Kiambu County.
In the complaint, the mall owners say Gachagua alleged that fraudsters siphoned funds from a scheme in Minnesota, United States, transferred the money to Kenya, invested it in Eastleigh properties, and used it to construct a shopping mall. He further claimed that the alleged beneficiaries had links to senior political figures and went on to urge former US President Donald Trump to bypass extradition procedures and forcibly arrest the individuals in Kenya.
Although Gachagua did not explicitly name Business Bay Square, the proprietors argue that any ordinary listener would reasonably understand he was referring to their mall, given its prominence and location in Eastleigh. They maintain that the statements, which he allegedly made without evidence or due process, have severely harmed the mall’s reputation and commercial standing.
“Our clients do not object to public discussion of crime or matters of public concern,” the advocates state in the letter.
“Their complaint is confined to the manner, framing, and foreseeable effect of the remarks, which invite conclusions of collective ethnic and commercial culpability.”
The letter further contends that Gachagua’s repeated references to Eastleigh amounted to a “thinly veiled attribution of criminality” to the Somali ethnic community and Somali-owned businesses. According to the proprietors, such remarks contravene the Constitution and the National Cohesion and Integration Act.
They cite Articles 27, 28, and 33 of the Constitution, which safeguard equality and human dignity and expressly prohibit hate speech. They also rely on Section 13 of the NCIC Act, which criminalises speech intended to stir ethnic hatred or contempt.
The BBS Mall owners warn that the remarks have already strained, and could further jeopardise, their relationships with tenants, financial institutions, insurers, employees, and regulators. They argue that the damage is aggravated by Gachagua’s status as a former holder of high constitutional office, which lends added weight and reach to his words.
The proprietors are now demanding that the NCIC promptly investigate the remarks in their full context, make a formal determination on whether they amount to ethnic contempt or hate speech, issue appropriate censure, and refer the matter for prosecution where it meets the legal threshold.
In addition, they have urged the Commission to caution media houses against uncritically amplifying statements they consider divisive or capable of inciting ethnic animosity.
“This demand is made in the public interest,” the letter states.
The mall’s proprietors warn that any failure or delay by the Commission would raise serious concerns about how effectively it is discharging its constitutional and statutory mandate.
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