Incite, he did; and for that he should be held fully responsible.
I am strongly convinced that the objects of his irresponsible remarks have been grossly mis-interpreted.
Allow me to explain:
With the rise of insecurity in the years gone by, those neighbourhoods that could neither afford to hire mainstream uniformed security guards nor put in place more expensive security mechanisms turned to rag-tag individuals for their security needs.
A hype then developed around individuals who claimed to have Maasai roots. There was a notion that the Maasai morans made excellent security personel due to their famed ferocity, straightforwardness and loyalty.
Granted, a good number of these god-sent individuals were legitimately Maasai morans. In the wake of rising demand for morans, enterprising individuals found it prudent to 'align their roots' with the expectations of the communities so as to enjoy the emerging employment opportunities that were clearly skewed in favour of the morans.
This was the case in my home area (Kisauni); where multitudes of youth of Samburu and Tanzanian origin were readily employed to manage security in the neighbourhoods.
The name 'hero' (stemming from the Maasai greeting 'ero') in reference to these informal guards gained acceptance. Anyone from Maweni, Kisimani, Tua Tugawe, Magogoni, Mwandoni and Mishomoroni areas of Mombasa can attest to this.
I am convinced that the name 'Maasai' in Waititu's vitriol was in reference to a similar ocuupational group in Kayole and not the broader ethnic block.
I am not in any way defending Waititu from incitement charges. He should be held accountable for it to the full extent of the law. All I'm saying is let's not get entangled in semantics.
If one is accused of stealing a Million shillings, let's not report the amount in question as "Coins worth A million Shillings" as this may raise the profile of the case in the eyes of coin-collectors.
¡ʇɹoɟɟǝ ƃuıɟɟǝ ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ɥɔnɯ os ؛uıɐʌ uı ɔıqɐɹɐ ƃuıuɹɐǝן pǝıɹʇ ı