WANANCHI who spread hate speech through the social media may soon be prosecuted after a Coast lobby group launched a monitoring project.

The Human Rights Agenda project will monitor how Kenyans use various social media sites and report any hate speech to the National Police Service.

The project, launched on Monday at a Mombasa hotel, will run until May. The monitors will scrutinise Facebook pages run by politicians and bloggers who post controversial messages.

National Police Service commissioner Murshid Mohamed said the project will help the National Cohesion and Integration Commission and the police to curb hate speech.