Political analyst and entrepreneur Humphrey Chris Ojode has warned that Kenya’s growing political goonism is being driven by unemployed youth, weak security systems and political leaders who fail to control inflammatory rhetoric ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Ojode said young people without jobs can easily be mobilised by political groups to cause chaos during rallies and other political activities, while hostile statements from rival camps can fuel tensions and make violence appear normal.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Wednesday, Ojode said the problem was not the presence of young people at political gatherings but the conditions that make them vulnerable to being used to cause violence.
“Most of the things that we see around the goons, uneasiness, all these are coming because I believe there is uneasiness in the sector of employment, and then there is a lot of laxity in our security systems. Yes, these are the things that are contributing to this kind of utterances, this kind of goonism, this other political uneasiness,” Ojode said.
He said political leaders should take responsibility for guiding young people away from violence instead of using them to advance political interests.
“Definitely, I would attribute them to unemployment. I will attribute them to laxity in security systems, and I will attribute them to our leaders who are not responsible enough to be able to direct our youths.”
Ojode also questioned whether security agencies were doing enough to prevent political violence, arguing that they have the information and ability to identify possible threats but do not always act early enough to stop them.
His remarks come days after violence disrupted a political mobilisation tour by the Linda Mwananchi movement in Homa Bay County on August 16.
Police later announced the arrest of 37 suspected gang members following the clashes. Some of those arrested were allegedly found in possession of crude weapons, including machetes, metal rods, knives, rungus and batons.
The violence left civilians, journalists and police officers injured. One police officer later died after he was reportedly struck by a stone.
Ojode said confrontational messages from rival political groups could further raise tensions, especially when supporters interpret statements from opposing camps as a call to prepare for confrontation.
He said one side could begin mobilising its supporters for a possible clash, prompting the other side to respond in a similar manner and creating a cycle that increases the chances of violence during political events.
Kenya has experienced politically linked violence for years, particularly during elections and political party nominations.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights documented seven deaths during the 2022 election period, compared with 99 deaths recorded in 2017. The commission also recorded 33 cases of violence targeting polling centres and election officials during the 2022 elections.
Conflict monitoring organisation Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) recorded more than 1,060 political disorder events in Kenya by August 5, 2022, including nearly 400 riot events.
Its analysis later recorded more than 990 political violence events in Kenya during 2022, resulting in almost 700 reported fatalities.
Ojode said his concerns were also informed by his own experience during the 2022 elections, when he said his campaign vehicles were destroyed and his driver was stabbed.
“I was a victim in 2022 of this all violence. I was supporting His Excellency Kidero, Dr Kidero, and these people started propagating the other side. They started planning a fight earlier because they believed His Excellency had a lot of financial muscles, and because he was an independent candidate, he would gather more votes and defeat the opponent,” he said.
According to Ojode, the violence affected political mobilisation and voting, with armed groups allegedly disrupting activities around polling and tallying centres.
“People are storming the polling stations with the guns. They come with machetes. They chase people. They come to the tallying centres. They chase people. Yeah, it was so bad,” Ojode maintained.
He warned that if political violence and goonism continue, some Kenyans could be discouraged from taking part in elections for fear of being caught up in clashes.
Ojode's comments come as political activities increase ahead of the 2027 General Election, with the recent violence in Homa Bay again raising concerns about the role of political groups, youth unemployment, inflammatory political statements and security preparedness in preventing election-related violence.