Kenya must heed warning signs of growing political intolerance

Executive Director Global Compact Network Kenya Judy Njino receives a booklet of Corruption Risk Assessment and Mitigation Guidelines from EACC Chairperson David Oginde at Villarosa Kempinsiki Hotel Nairobi on May 23,2025. [Benard Orwongo,Standard] The other day in Kitale, irate wananchi torched Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) vehicles in broad daylight. The police watched from a distance-some say helpless, others say complicit. Either way, the silence and inaction of State agents in the face of such a brazen act is not just a reflection of waning public trust; it's a signal that the relationship between citizen and state is fraying dangerously. What's more disturbing is the dismissive attitude of those close to the presidency, treating these events as little more than episodes of political drama or social media spectacle. But this is no joke. Kenya is standing on the precipice of something far more serious: The erosion of constitutional order through sustained State-sponsored violence, institutional decay, and open provocation by government officials. This is not the 1980s or early 1990s. The methods used then-surveillance, State intimidation, unlawful detentions, and violence against political opponents-cannot work on a generation born and bred in relative freedom. Today's youth are assertive, digital-savvy, and globally connected. They have tasted the fruits of democracy, however imperfect, and they won't return to servitude without resistance. Kenya is not Tanzania. Kenya is not Uganda. Kenya is Kenya-home to a revolutionary past that birthed the Mau Mau uprising, where resistance to oppression is not an imported idea but a foundational creed. The political class must understand this before they push the country past a line from which return may be costly. The recent remarks by Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi and Senator Samson Cherargei, openly suggesting that they intend to rig the 2027 general elections, are as reckless as they are provocative. These are not fringe actors. These are individuals with access to power, resources, and the President himself. When such statements go unchallenged, uninvestigated, and even applauded in inner government circles, they signal an intent to undermine electoral democracy. And that should concern every Kenyan, regardless of their political affiliation. If you had told Sudi and Cherargei just months ago that a group of young Kenyans-Gen Z-would breach parliamentary security, plant themselves in the heart of legislative power, and send MPs scampering for safety, they would have dismissed you as mad. Yet that is exactly what happened. That storming of Parliament was not just a protest. It was a political earthquake. It signaled that the youth have reached their limit and are willing to defy even the most hallowed institutions to make their voices heard. The government's reaction? Vilification. Mockery by digital operatives. Arrests. And worse still, a refusal to listen. This State-led intolerance, peppered with violence and an ever-tightening grip on independent institutions, is dangerously unsustainable. Government bloggers and online influencers who mock victims of police brutality, who cheer for repressive laws, and who justify the silencing of dissent are not helping the pPresident. They are pushing Kenya toward chaos. In Trans Nzoia, it is no longer business as usual. The people are angry. They are fed up with a government that speaks of inclusivity but practices exclusion. They are tired of the constant gaslighting, the rising cost of living, the collapse of accountability, and the growing insecurity. If this government wants to avoid a full-scale rebellion-which no sane Kenyan wants-it must change course immediately. It must begin by respecting dissent. That means allowing peaceful protest without tear gas or bullets. It means holding rogue security officers and politicians accountable. It means real electoral reform to guarantee that 2027 will be free and fair. The President must silence the cheerleaders of violence and intolerance within his inner circle. He must rein in his bloggers, his MPs, and his senators who think threatening Kenyans with rigged elections is a game. He must recognise that leadership is not about domination, but service. It is not about humiliating your opponents but respecting the institutions that protect every Kenyan's rights, regardless of political leaning. The opposition, too, must remain principled and avoid the temptation of responding to provocation with violence. But they must not be asked to be silent in the face of injustice. Kenya's future depends on a vigilant, vocal, and courageous opposition that demands accountability, transparency, and justice. Let us not walk the road of failed states. Let us not waste the blood and hope of generations past who fought for our democracy. Let us not allow reckless rhetoric, police complicity, and digital mockery to destroy a country so many gave their lives to build. Kenya is at a crossroads. The choices we make now-especially those made by those in power-will determine whether we continue as a thriving democracy or collapse into a state of perpetual unrest. The signs are clear. Will we have the wisdom to act before it's too late?

Kenya must heed warning signs of growing political intolerance

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