Religious Leaders, Civil Society Warn Kenya’s 2027 Election at Risk Without Urgent Action on Violence, Money, and Institutional Independence

By Liz Anyango 

With just 11 months to Kenya’s next General Election, a coalition of religious leaders, professional bodies, and civil society organisations has issued a stark warning that the country is sleepwalking into another deeply polarised and potentially violent electoral contest without addressing the structural fault lines that have marred past polls.

 Following a two-day National Stakeholders Convention at Ufungamano House in Nairobi, attended by six umbrella religious institutions, seven constitutional agencies, five professional bodies, and 21 civil society groups, delegates released a communiqué expressing rising anxiety over the 2027 vote. They cited political violence, the use of organised gangs to intimidate citizens, rampant monetisation of politics, institutional interference, misinformation, and the systematic exclusion of youth, women, and persons with disabilities as critical threats to both credibility and peace. 

The religious leaders specifically called for the investigation and prosecution of those who finance violence, arguing that arresting low-level operatives would not solve the problem if financiers and organisers remain untouched, while also criticising what they termed selective policing that blurs the line between political gangs and security agencies. The convention further raised alarm over the perceived capture and politicisation of the Police, Judiciary, Parliament, and constitutional bodies, warning that such influence could erode public trust in the electoral process, and even took aim at political donations to churches and mosques, committing umbrella religious bodies to limit political access to their platforms and encourage anonymised giving to preserve their independence. 

Money in politics was described as having reached a crisis point, with delegates questioning the sources of campaign financing and the subsequent expectations of wealthy backers for government contracts or favours, urging citizens to reject election bribery and refuse to exchange votes for short-term handouts. 

On misinformation and ethnic polarisation, the stakeholders committed to promoting national cohesion and establishing fact-checking structures to counter deliberate narratives that divide Kenyans into “us” and “them.” Perhaps most strikingly, the communiqué highlighted that while people under 35 make up roughly 75 percent of Kenya’s population, they hold only 4 percent of elected parliamentary seats, with women at 23 percent and persons with disabilities at just 1 percent, prompting religious leaders to pledge using their networks to create greater leadership opportunities for these groups. 

Despite the litany of concerns, the convention ended with a call to ordinary citizens not to withdraw from the democratic process but to reject bribery, demand accountability, and make informed choices, emphasising that the work of protecting the 2027 election has already begun and that the challenge now lies in translating commitments into action.