Rights Groups Warn Kenya’s 2027 Elections at Risk as Regional Abuses and By-Election Violence Raise Alarm

By Grace Mwende 

Human rights defenders, legal experts and democracy advocates have warned that Kenya’s 2027 General Election could be compromised unless urgent reforms are undertaken to protect civic space, curb political violence and safeguard the independence of electoral institutions.

The warnings were issued during the National Symposium on Human Rights and the Ballot in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities, themed “Securing Human Rights Before the Ballot – Lessons for Kenya 2027”, convened by the Chapter IV Institute.

Speaking at the forum, Chapter IV Executive Director Njeri Kabeberi cautioned that shrinking civic space, political repression and weakened electoral institutions across Africa pose serious risks to Kenya’s democratic stability if left unchecked.

Drawing lessons from across the continent, Kabeberi cited violent and compromised elections in countries such as Cameroon, Tanzania and Uganda, warning that Kenya is not immune to similar regression.

“We have seen elections in Cameroon marked by bloodshed, bribery and leaders clinging to power for over 40 years. In Tanzania, a country once seen as a jewel of East Africa, we are now witnessing jailing of opposition figures and disregard for human rights,” Kabeberi said.

She described Uganda’s situation as “tragic,” noting that the continued detention of opposition leaders is an embarrassment to the region and a sign of democratic decay silently tolerated by political elites.

Kabeberi warned that Kenya has already shown worrying signs, pointing to the Gen Z protests of 2024 and 2025 that were met with killings, abductions and mass arrests despite constitutional guarantees of free expression and assembly.

“When a country ignores its constitution during peacetime, what will happen during elections?” she posed, adding that the symposium was convened to help Kenya prepare early and avoid sliding into authoritarianism.

Human Rights Defender Cyprian Nyamwamu said the continent is witnessing a dangerous trend where elections are increasingly secured through fear rather than law.

“We are seeing repression of opposition figures, closure of civic space, abductions and enforced disappearances being normalised in the name of security,” Nyamwamu said. “If these trends are not confronted head-on, Kenya’s 2027 elections will not be free or fair.”

Nyamwamu stressed that strategic litigation, institutional independence, civic mobilisation and voter education must be urgently strengthened to protect democracy before the ballot.

Renowned scholar Prof PLO Lumumba strongly criticised the conduct of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) during recent by-elections, accusing it of legitimising chaos and corruption.

“The conduct of the IEBC during the by-elections was disgraceful — open corruption, chaos, even killings — yet they declared them free and fair. Free and fair? My foot,” Lumumba said.

He warned that continued failure by electoral managers to uphold the Constitution would attract historical and legal consequences, including possible international sanctions.

Similarly, Evance Ogada, an advocate and Chair of the Rule of Law Committee at the East Africa Law Society, warned that unresolved electoral violence and political intimidation witnessed during recent by-elections could fatally undermine the credibility of the 2027 polls.

“If the violence, crookery and intimidation we saw in the by-elections are replicated on a national scale in 2027, we will not have elections but sham elections,” Ogada said.

He called for impartial enforcement of the law, accountability for perpetrators of electoral violence and firm resistance to political interference by independent institutions, particularly the IEBC.

Ogada reminded election officials of their constitutional oath, warning that excuses of political pressure would not shield them from future criminal or international sanctions.

The symposium concluded with a call to citizens, civil society and institutions to speak out boldly against democratic backsliding, with speakers warning that the collapse of democracy in Kenya would have devastating consequences for the entire East African region.

“We cannot lose Kenya to bad politics,” Kabeberi said. “If Kenya falls, East Africa falls.”