Nairobi (Alshahid)-A Kenyan court on Wednesday charged an assistant minister from Tana Delta County that has been hit by a deadly wave of tribal killings with inciting violence.

Dhadho Godhana, a retired army major and assistant Livestock Development minister allegedly incited the communities by uttering words meant to cause death or physical injury to residents of Tana Delta.

Godana denied the charges before senior principal magistrate Lucy Nyambura. The magistrate granted him a cash bail Sh500,000 or a bond of Sh1 million with a similar surety pending hearing of the case on October 2.

His appearance in court comes hours after President Mwai Kibaki ordered the arrest and prosecution of leaders fanning violence in the troubled region, where more than 100 people have been shot or hacked to death in the past month.

Godana, whose constituency is located in the Tana Delta where the violence erupted, had accused a political rival, acting Internal Security Minister Yusuf Haji, of whipping up the unrest, according to local media.

Settled Pokomo farmers and semi-nomadic Orma pastoralists have clashed intermittently for years over access to grazing, farmland and water in the coastal region. An influx of weapons in past years has upped the stakes.