Kenya risks becoming another Haiti if goons keep policing our elections

Some of the goons believed to have been hired to prevent demonstrations on Moi Avenue ,during protests over the killing of blogger Albert Ojwang by police at Central police station. [File-Standard]

Events witnessed during the recent Ol Kalou by-election  should concern every believer in democracy, constitutionalism, and the rule of law. Reports of violence, intimidation, and the use of goons to disrupt political activities paint a disturbing picture of where our politics could be headed if such conduct is tolerated.

More troubling still, these incidents do not appear isolated. Similar allegations have emerged in recent weeks during Linda Mwananchi forums in Kisii, Kisumu, and Nyahururu. Regardless of political affiliation, Kenyans should reject any attempt to use violence, intimidation, or hired groups to silence dissenting voices.

President William Ruto and all leaders should be extremely cautious. History teaches that political actors who create, sponsor, or  tolerate violent groups often discover too late that such forces become impossible to control. In Haiti, gangs once linked to political interests evolved into criminal networks that now control significant territory and challenge state authority. Libya offers a similar caution: Armed groups that multiplied amid political conflict eventually became actors beyond any central authority's control. A short-term political strategy can easily become a long-term national crisis.

Kenyans should be free to exercise their constitutional rights without interference from any person, gang, or association. Article 36 guarantees every person the right to freedom of association, including participation in the activities of any association. Article 37 guarantees the right to assemble, demonstrate, picket, and petition public authorities peaceably and unarmed. These rights are not gifts from politicians; they are constitutional guarantees belonging to every Kenyan. When citizens gather for public forums, political meetings, or civic engagement, they exercise rights protected by the supreme law of the land, and no individual or institution has authority to suppress them through intimidation or violence.

The armed men who assaulted residents and journalists at Ol Kalou Comprehensive School, seizing cameras, tear-gassing and dispersing them with live bullets, should be condemned by every peace-loving Kenyan. That this happened openly before uniformed police officers raised a troubling likelihood: That some of these masked attackers were police officers themselves. This defies the April 2025 High Court ruling requiring that officers deployed during demonstrations be identifiable, properly uniformed, and unmasked, reinforcing constitutional protections around peaceful assembly.

Kenya has worked hard to build democratic institutions and heal from painful political violence. We cannot reverse that progress heading into a general election. Political leaders face a clear choice: strengthen democratic institutions or weaken them; reward peaceful competition or reward lawlessness. There is no middle ground.