As Kenya enters the final year before the 2027 general election, I think it is only natural that a certain watchfulness begins to return to our markets, our neighbourhoods and our national conversation because we have been here before.
And there is nothing wrong with being alert. It does not mean that we have lost confidence in ourselves as a country. To me, it is a sign of a nation that has learnt from its past and does not intend to repeat its mistakes.
Over the past few election cycles, Kenya has shown that even closely contested elections can be conducted with dignity and restraint. That is real progress. It is something we should recognise and be proud of. But progress, especially in a country as politically alive as Kenya, cannot simply be assumed to continue on its own.We have to protect it.
Every election reminds us of something else that is sometimes forgotten in political debates: economic confidence and political confidence tend to move together. Investors watch closely while employers think twice before making new commitments. Currency and financial markets become more sensitive to uncertainty. And small traders, who have the least room to absorb shocks, usually feel the effects first.
So a peaceful, credible and orderly election is not just a political objective. It is also an economic one.
The ambitions we have set for the country under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), from manufacturing and housing to agriculture and the digital economy, require confidence. They require investors, both Kenyan and foreign, to believe that this is a country in which they can make long-term commitments and plan for the future.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the Judiciary, the National Police Service, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission and other institutions must be allowed to do their work professionally and impartially.
Some of Kenya’s most difficult moments have followed periods when genuine concerns were left unattended for too long, only to be addressed when tensions had already become difficult to contain. We should not wait for that point.
The better course is steady, patient dialogue.Political leaders need to talk to one another. Faith leaders need to be part of the conversation. Business people, young Kenyans and civil society also have a place at the table.
These conversations should not begin when campaign posters go up and political temperatures are already rising. They should begin now because the communication platforms exist. What we need is the discipline to use them consistently and the humility to listen as much as we speak.
It is easy to imagine that peace is something negotiated by a few leaders behind closed doors. It is not.Peace is built in ordinary places.It is built in the market stall where two people disagree about politics but still trade with one another the next morning. It is built in matatu queues, in homes, in churches and mosques, in newsrooms, in workplaces and, increasingly, on the phones of millions of young Kenyans.Because what we say matters. What we share matters. What we repeat matters.
The year ahead will demand a little more care from all of us. We can disagree passionately without turning disagreement into hatred. We can challenge leaders without dehumanising them. We can defend our political choices without treating those who make different choices as enemies.
And I especially appeal to our young people. You are energetic, informed and deeply engaged in the affairs of this country. You have every right to question leaders, including me, and you should. But I also urge you to hold all of us to a higher standard, one in which political competition does not destroy the relationships we will still need after the election, because the election will end and we will still need to live next to one another.
As we enter this final year before the 2027 polls, the government renews its commitment to strengthening institutions that earn and maintain public trust, keeping dialogue open and honest, ensuring that our security services protect citizens and sustaining an economy that continues to move forward through the political season.
To me, peace and stability are one of Kenya’s greatest assets. They are also among the easiest to take for granted.So let us tend to them carefully in the year ahead, with the same seriousness we would give our most important investment. Because that is exactly what it is.
Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs
