In just one week, a gun belonging to a judge has been linked to various crimes in the country, and goons were unleashed on voters during a by-election in Ol Kalou. When such disturbing events continue to emerge, one wonders where the country is headed.

Masked men armed to the teeth turned up at a by-election in Ol-Kalou, causing fear. Among those harassed are journalists who had gone to cover the vote. Interior Cabinet Secretary, whose portfolio includes security, denied that the masked men were government agents and rightly condemned their actions. However, how did intelligence services miss such a serious potential risk to the lives of Kenyans simply exercising their civic duties? Clearly, something is not adding up.

From the look of things, the seeds of political violence seem to have been sown and are growing faster than wildfires. If a by-election can lead to such high-level violence involving guns, masked men and live bullets, one can only wonder what will happen during next year’s General Election.

Huge attention

The Ol-Kalou by-election is supposed to give the local people a chance to elect a new leader following the death of their MP, David Kiaraho. It should have been a simple matter of residents of Ol-Kalou casting their votes and going home, but it has been a charade ever since the by-election was officially announced, with political parties throwing everything at it, including the kitchen sink.

The whole country has been gripped by a by-election in a tiny area of Kenya, which, in the grand scheme of things, ought not to have received such huge attention. The media has been awash with the shenanigans that have ensued until now. Political parties spent a lot of resources (read bribes) just to capture one seat. The electoral crimes committed before and during the by-election do not seem to matter to the police, the IEBC or the EACC.

The Ol-Kalou by-election was never about the voters or representing the people. It is something only the candidates know about, if violence is necessary to secure a seat. People would not necessarily want violence to accompany them to the polling station. Is violence necessary in an election? In Kenya, it seems so because elections are not about representing the people, but oneself. If political seats continue to be highly lucrative for politicians, violence will never be far off. Kenyan politics is all about money and government muscle.

The problem with Kenyan democracy lies with government muscle. The incumbent government and the political party in power will have the means to unleash violence to protect their members and secure seats at any cost. This cannot be democratic. If democracy was the idea being pursued, a democratic process would allow every candidate equal opportunity in a civic process.

Brandishing guns

The government has denied that the masked men with guns at the Ol-Kalou by-elections were acting on their behalf. However, history has taught us that the government has previously relied on masked men and guns to achieve its aims, starting with the 2024 Gen Z protests, where people suffered and died at the hands of masked men. Even if the government denies that they had anything to do with the Ol-Kalou masked men this time, it will be hard to shake off the allegations that they have relied on masked men again to get their way.

The scenes from Ol-Kalou, with masked men brandishing guns, do not paint the country in a good light. If anything, this is a worrying trend, not just for elections, but for the country as a whole. Masked men, guns and live bullets belong in war zones, not in a democratic process such as a by-election or general election. The presence of masked men and guns at an election constitutes an attack on Kenya’s democracy and poses a threat to peace and security in the country.

Is it worth using violence in order to win a political seat in Kenya? If the aim is to serve the public, should voters really be subjected to violence and insecurity at the hands of the very people standing for election?

It was hoped that lessons were learnt from the political violence that gripped Kenya after the General Election in 2007/8. However, given the current scenes of violence, whether at political rallies or during by-elections, it is difficult to see if at all Kenyans learnt something.

The rise in political violence ahead of the next General Election does little to inspire confidence in Kenyans that their country is democratic or secure.

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Ms Guyo is a legal researcher, kdiguyo@gmail.com, @kdiguyo