I had hoped to avoid commenting on the 2027 General Election, but here I am. It’s a tired topic due to the violence involved, not to mention the reporting of the same challenges faced at every election. The violence is not only physical, but verbal, too. Lives are lost prior to the elections and also afterwards as results are disputed.
Every election period in Kenya is a time of economic stagnation. There is violence, allegations of vote rigging and loss of life, and this happens at nearly every general election. Reporting on these reasons is tedious and heartbreaking. Improvements to security during elections have been promised countless times, yet no significant changes have been recorded.
Kenya has made the same mistakes at every general election, but then expects different results. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen’s recent suggestion that the police might step in and end political gatherings if security risks become too high will only add fuel to the fire. This could easily become a recipe for more violence and deaths.
It is only in a banana republic that insecurity and general elections are mentioned in the same breath. Insecurity should have no place in any civic and democratic process. Insecurity during elections indicates a lack of democratic processes and is proof that intimidation and violence are being used to gain power.
The police in Kenya have not exactly covered themselves in glory during elections or at other times. Their reputation for relying on violence to quell protests cannot be brought into a democratic process. Granting the police the power to interrupt political rallies is like handing them petrol to fuel a raging fire. Kenya’s general elections are emotional, and the last thing required is a plan to deal with emotional issues such as voting, which includes the use of the police.
Suggesting that the police should be given the power to end political rallies will only lead to further violence. The police in Kenya are not well equipped to use force fairly and reasonably, or to remain unbiased. The police and the state have been closely aligned for as long as Kenya has existed. As long as this relationship remains close, the police will inevitably be used to advance the interests of incumbent governments.
I can’t remember a time when the police were not the main suspects when it came to dealing with matters relating to the opposition in Kenya.
They have always been extremely aggressive towards the opposition, undermining their success by siding with the State and terrorising the opposition and the public while carrying out the wishes of those in power or those wishing to cling to power. This is a common scenario across East Africa now. This is because the police have been compromised by their closeness to power. This closeness has led to dereliction of duty.
Sending in the police to end a political rally deemed to threaten peace and security is bound to lead to further abuse of power. Many rallies have previously been cancelled despite permits being given beforehand, to undermine the opposition. Another way of frustrating the opposition is to use the police to stop political rallies halfway through. I can’t imagine a scenario in which the ruling party would interrupt its own rallies due to insecurity.
The solution does not lie in the police interrupting political rallies. Such events are often hotbeds of tension and violence. Adding the police to the mix in an attempt to stop rallies and pre-empt further violence will only lead to more violence. The best solution would be to ban political rallies altogether. Gatherings of thousands of people have become a cover for “goonism”. These hired thugs have become commonplace at many political rallies, leading to death and destruction.
Therefore, the problem lies in allowing political rallies to go ahead when they have become a breeding ground for goonism and violence. Sending in the police midway through to prevent violence will only lend credence to the goons. In the spirit of fairness to both the opposition and the ruling party, I believe it is better to ban physical political gatherings to minimise violence and end goonism.
The emphasis should now be on using technology and the media, such as television, for campaigning, rather than allowing politicians to travel across the country and cause mayhem. The root cause of political violence in Kenya is the gathering of people, which sometimes leads to provocation and unnecessary tension, for example in opposition strongholds.
If the intention is to have peaceful campaigns for the 2027 General Election, ending political rallies is the solution.
