Inside Sh1b NCIC strategy to ensure peaceful elections

Inter-religious Council of Kenya Chairperson Sheikh Abdullahi Salat, the Chairman of NCIC, Bishop Kepha Nyamweya Omae and Evangelical Alliance of Kenya Chairperson Bishop Geoffrey Njuguna at NCIC offices, Nairobi. July 27, 2026. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

The country's quest for violence-free elections in 2027 faces a myriad of challenges ranging from declining public trust in institutions to political intolerance, youth vulnerability, misinformation and unresolved community conflicts, it has emerged.

In a roadmap unveiled in Nairobi on Tuesday as part of preparations for peaceful elections, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) identified a growing trust deficit as one of the major roadblocks to electoral peace.

It cited declining confidence in institutions including the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP), NCIC, National Police Service (NPS) and the Judiciary.

In the plan dubbed "Uchaguzi Bila Noma-Second Edition," the commission also pointed to weakening trust in duty bearers, including the security sector, Parliament and the Executive, as well as diminishing trust among communities.

The Commission's chairperson, Kepha Omae, warned that tensions between younger and older generations, ethnic communities, and other social groups could fuel inter-ethnic animosity and widen existing divisions.

Political intolerance is another major concern, with the commission raising the alarm over early campaigns, hate and dangerous speech, ethnic mobilisation, political zoning, heightened polarisation and the emergence of goonism and organised criminal gangs.

Young people who form a significant part of the electorate, women and persons with disabilities are also considered vulnerable.

NCIC cited high unemployment, youth activism and volatility, erosion of moral foundations and the negative use of digital technology as factors that could increase their susceptibility to political manipulation.

The commission further warned that social media misinformation, disinformation and mal-information, alongside artificial intelligence-generated content and deepfakes, could weaponise online spaces and exacerbate political tensions.

Beyond the digital space, NCIC identified an entrenched culture of violence, pre-existing community and boundary conflicts, unresolved historical injustices, rising insecurity and citizens taking the law into their own hands as threats to peaceful elections.

To address the trust deficit, the commission has proposed listening forums bringing together duty bearers and young people and transgenerational dialogues to dialogue and formulate avenues to achieve peace before, during and after the polls.

Symposia involving youth, boda boda riders, women, persons with disabilities, informal-settlement residents, religious groups and other special groups, the commission said, will form part of the strategies to prevent violence in a plan it documented will cumulatively cost Sh957.6 million.

It has allocated about Sh308.7 million to trust-building interventions which, it noted, will involve organising listening forums, including intergenerational talks, capacity building and activation of partnerships.

Under its responsible leadership strategy, costing about Sh48.1 million, NCIC plans to monitor public spaces and social media for hate and dangerous speech, sensitise political parties and leaders on peaceful elections.

Within the same budget, they seek to promote accountability through a Peace and Accountability Charter and establish a “wall of honour and wall of shame” to recognise cohesion champions and expose violators.

Youth engagement, which they said will consume approximately Sh281.4 million, they noted will include youth-led co-creation sessions, youth cafés, and social-media listening.

Civic education campaigns, peace caravans, roadshows, town-hall meetings and sports tournaments in electoral hotspots, the commission announced, will also be part of youth engagement programmes.

NCIC has set aside Sh20.5 million for addressing the negative use of digital technology through digital hygiene and digital peacebuilding advocacy, including training online influencers to promote non-violent communication and responsible digital discourse.

Another intervention focused on conflict prevention and disruption will cost the agency about Sh298.9 million.

Here, the commission intends to conduct nationwide hotspot mapping, conflict analysis, early-warning structures, mediation units, training of justice and security actors, deploy peace monitors and have continuous election observation.

The commission will also undertake post-election analysis after the 2027 polls.

This is even as the Commission continues to face intense scrutiny over accusations of being "toothless" in reprimanding leaders and people who have been captured making sentiments deemed to be hate speech.

Some of the leaders from both political divides have publicly defied appearing before the Commission to answer hate-speech-related remarks after summonses.

Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma is the latest to join the list of leaders who continue to treat NCIC with contempt after he snubbed a summons by the Commission over utterances deemed inflammatory.

Kaluma is allegedly associated with the violence witnessed in Homa Bay during the Linda Mwananchi movement rally, which left four dead, scores injured and properties destroyed.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale had also failed to honour their summonses, citing discrimination and bias by the Commission in handling the cases, with the duo trading accusations against each other.

"I want to tell the NCIC that the day you are going to summon Rigathi Gachagua is the day you are going to summon Aden Duale," Duale said last month. 

While acknowledging the trust deficit the public has in the Commission, NCIC chairperson Kepha Omae defended themselves, arguing that they have been in office "only for a short time."

"Even when a child is born, he/she takes time to grow teeth. We have been in office for two months. We have grown two teeth. We will bite," assured Dr Omae.

“Words spoken carelessly by leaders and influential individuals can deepen divisions, fuel mistrust and create conditions that may ultimately threaten national peace and cohesion,” he said, drawing a parallel with the 2007/2008 electoral violence that left at least 1000 dead.

Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi, who was the chief guest at the launch, raised concerns over the economic cost of violence in the country.

Data shows that the country's economic growth fell to -2.8 per cent (negative) from eight per cent during the 2007/2008 post-election chaos. 

"We sometimes underestimate the economic value of peace and stability. We rightly speak about roads, railways, ports, airports, power plants and other infrastructure. These investments are critical to our development," he said, warning that loss of life was even more devastating. 

"A life lost can never be recovered. We should not allow political lynching," he added.

Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen urged leaders to shun intimidation of opponents, as that amounted to violence.

"Violence doesn't have to be their guns and stones. The moment I cannot be allowed to speak about my political views freely, because I have been intimidated to the extent that politicians are saying, if we find an agent of a political party or a certain political player, we will do something to him, that is violence," he said.

Kenya National Commission on Human Rights urged the government to rein in goons causing terror across the country.

"Monopoly of violence is a function of the State, and it must never relinquish violence to goons, citizens and other people who want to cause violence," said the Commission.