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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan lawmaker has been charged in a Nairobi court with inciting his constituents to violence and racial contempt.
Mathew Lempurkel is accused of calling for the forceful eviction of white landowners if opposition leader Raila Odinga wins the general election Aug. 8. Lempurkel is a member of Odinga's party and represents the Laikipia North constituency.
Lempurkel denied the charges Friday but said he could not comment further when quizzed by journalists outside court.
Hundreds of seminomadic herders invaded ranches in Laikipia seeking to save their animals from a prolonged drought that was declared a national disaster. However, they have stayed on after seasonal rains arrived and are claiming ownership, saying the lands belonged to their ancestors. Many of the ranches are owned by whites.
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