Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina has fingered the government over planning what she terms systematic political violence before the 2027 general election, and the trend is a severe threat to democracy and the unity of the nation.

Speaking during a morning interview with a local TV station on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, Njeri Maina, politically allied to Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) party leader Rigathi Gachagua, said that a culture of violence is being carefully nurtured and encouraged to flourish by the ruling elite. She says that the plan is to intimidate the people and manipulate the votes leading up to the high-stakes elections.

“Why would the government want to manufacture political violence? This violence happens because the government wants to create or instil fear in the people. Towards the 2027 general election, a high-stakes election, we have proponents of two terms and one term. The president wants to gain another term to serve Kenyans. So all these issues come about because of the election period, and you will see a need perhaps to manufacture violence to suppress voter outcomes, mostly in regions perceived to be anti-government,” Njeri said.

Njeri has added that with the political blocs starting to take sides in the one-term versus two-term leadership debate, the possibility of manipulation by bullying is a growing trend.

She opined that the insistence of the current government to have another term in office is possibly contributing to the drive to create instability, especially in the regions that are considered anti-government.

It is on the generation of fear and damping down the will of the people, she said, and this method might be employed to manipulate the electoral turnout and to create an electoral result skewed towards the ruling establishment.

Njeri warns of the effects of political violence

According to the lawmaker, the effects of the politically instigated violence, she warned, would not be selective, as both the supporters and opponents of the government might end up losing in the end. The monster will devour all of us, pro-government and anti-government, she warned.

“The most unfortunate thing is that this monster will swallow pro-government and anti-government us,” Njeri added.

Meanwhile, Njeri gave a powerful reprimand to political goonism, challenging them to consider the consequences of their deeds in the long run. She emphasised that violence compromised democratic institutions and negatively affected innocent citizens, irrespective of their political affiliations.

Her words are in the wake of increasing political temperatures around the country, as leaders continue to mobilise and alliances build up before 2027.

The statement by Njeri contributes to the mounting demand to restrain, be accountable, and protect peaceful political participation throughout the election period.