TOWARDS A BETTER KENYA
COMMUNIQUE OF THE NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS CONVENTION
Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? (Amos 3: 3)
O believers! Be mindful of Allah and let every soul look to what deeds it has sent forth for tomorrow (Surah Al-Hashr 59:18)
Preamble
The two-day National Stakeholders Convention has been held here at Ufungamano House, Nairobi, from 2nd – 3rd September 2026, bringing together representatives from 6 umbrella religious institutions, 7 constitutional agencies, 5 professional bodies, and 21 civil society organisations. The goal of the Convention was to assess the readiness by constitutional bodies to deliver democratic, credible and peaceful elections, and to formulate strategies by different actors to secure the 2027 electoral cycle.
The delegates recognized that eleven months to the next General Election, anxiety and tension are rising exponentially due to fear of violence normally associated with incumbency elections. This fear is built on the experience of 1997, 2007 and 2017 polls where incumbents were re-elected in a context of bloodshed, loss of lives and destruction of livelihoods.
1. Riks Facing the 2027 Elections
The delegates appreciate that taking caution is a divine directive, as we learn from the Bible in Proverbs 22: 3 – A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it; and from the Quran in Surah Al-Baqarah 2:195 – do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction.
With this in mind, the National Stakeholders Convention identified and analyzed five key risks that are threatening the 2027 General Elections. These are:
a) Political Violence, Goonism, Human Rights Violations and Youth Exploitation
The tragic normalization of violence and state-sponsored goonism is a danger only comparable to the man who feeds a baby lion never realizing that when it grows up it will eat him. It is worth noting that the primary driver of goonism and political violence is not youth unemployment but the selective policing which has blurred the lines between political gangs and security agencies.
There is apparent state sponsorship of goons who are working alongside the police and who enjoy political protection. This was clearly seen in Homabay County where many people were killed to the point that the mortuary was closed.
Religious leaders committed to publicly campaign for speedy and equal arrest and prosecution of every person who pays Kenyans to engage in violence. As a nation, we must cut the roots of the tree, not the present charade of beating down a few leaves and pretending that is a solution. The leaders of agencies given investigation and prosecution mandate will be held personally responsible for dereliction of duty.
b) Institutional Capture, Abuse of State Power and Co-Option of Fatih Institutions
The persistent determination by political actors to make politicized monetary donations to faith institutions is an attempt to corrupt and silence the moral voice of the society. The political actors also seek to ride on the identification with religious leaders as a public relations tool to imply they have greater influence than their competitors.
Considering the despair in the hearts of Kenyans due to the perceived state capture of the Police, the Judiciary, the Parliament and the constitutional bodies, it will be a grave sin if religious leaders allow themselves to be captured by politicians through donations.
The umbrella religious bodies have committed to mobilize their members and congregations to restrict access to their platform by political actors and to drive a campaign for anonymized giving in churches and mosques. We further refuse to be used to legitimize political actors.
c) Influence of Money, Opaque Campaign Financing and Elite Capture
Kenya is progressively transitioning from democracy to plutocracy, which is a government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich as they exploit the poor. The monetization of politics in Kenya is at a crisis level, and money shapes candidate identification, political competition, election results, and governance decisions. Spiritually the political actors are pushing Kenya from worship of Almighty God of all Creation to worshipping money.
The delegates at this National Stakeholders Convention have committed to conduct civic and voter education through the places of worship.
d) Misinformation, Hate Speech and Political / Ethnic Polarisation
Recognizing the power of narratives, political actors deliberately build misinformation and disinformation structures to discredit their opponents and paint themselves as the saints. The political actors are working hard to polarize the society by building narratives of “us-vs-them” in which they paint some people as the problem and therefore their suppression is the solution. This is also the basis of the attempts at political zoning that is being peddled by some politicians.
The Religious Leaders have committed to build positive narratives that enhance cohesion among the people of Kenya. They will also work with other stakeholders to establish fact-checking structures that will be used to distribute credible messages.
e) Structural Exclusion of Youth, Women and PWDs
It is tragic that elite capture and social prejudices exclude youth, women and persons with disabilities from leadership and decision making positions. Statistics show the gravity of the exclusion: The under 35s, who are 75% of the population, held 4% of elected positions in Parliament. On their part, women are 50% of the population, but hold only 23% of the seats in the National Assembly. Persons with disabilities, who constitute 2.2% of the population, hold an elective share of 1%. This is way below the constitutional stipulations for women and PWDs, and unconscionably low for the youth.
The religious leaders will use their structures to mobilize social and traditional structures to accord youth, women and PWDs opportunities to get elected or appointed to positions of leadership. This commitment extends to review of laws and policies, including those internal to religious institutions, that are found to exclude youth, women and PWDs from leadership and decision making.
2. Participate to Safeguard Your Future
Historically, political and electoral violence is used to discourage, intimidate and disincentivize citizens from participating in political and governance processes. The intended result is that only the supporters of the perpetrator participate in the electoral process, enabling them to win at all costs.
This is the mentality behind the wave of kidnappings, abductions, extra-judicial killings, state capture of independent agencies and goonism. The different political formations have over the time worked to deliberately impoverish the citizens believing that poor citizens will behave as they are guided by those who give them tokens. For how long will Kenyans accept to be bribed with money that was stolen from them so as to put those same thieves into positions of leadership? Kenyans are known to brutally beat thieves caught snatching phones and handbags on the street. So why do they celebrate those who steal millions and billions that were meant to create jobs for the pickpockets?
Kenyans must always remember that the money some politicians dish out is taken from financiers who then demand government contracts after the elections. Others dish out money that they have stolen from the people. This is the reason many government tenders are manipulated and end up going to companies that do shoddy work.
It is time for Kenyan citizens to wake up and say NO to election bribery so as to end illicit political financing.
3. Conclusion
Kenyans are facing very serious risks as they approach the 14th General Elections which are coming in only 11 months. There is need for collective action to build a better Kenya. Building a better nation is the responsibility of every Kenyan, recognizing that each must play a role for the good of all. This is the lesson we learn from the holy scriptures:
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2: 4)
They give preference to others over themselves, even though they are in need (Sura Al-Hashr 59:9)
May God bless Kenya now and always
Signed on this 3rd day of September 2026 at Ufungamano House
Rt Rev Simon Peter Kamomoe, KCCB
Bsp Dr Calisto Odede, EAK
Sheik Abdullah Salat, SUPKEM
Rev Dr Elias Agola, NCCK
