Lead image for Faith leaders, NCIC form unit to keep peace.
With the 2027 General Election approaching, faith leaders have joined forces with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), and World Vision Kenya to build a coordinated campaign against political violence, hate speech and other threats to national cohesion.
The partnership seeks to move peace efforts beyond traditional calls for calm from pulpits and mosques to practical interventions, including early warning, mediation, youth engagement, digital monitoring and rapid response to emerging conflicts.
Speaking on Wednesday during a joint forum in Nairobi, the organisations and participating faith leaders warned that political intolerance, ethnic mobilisation, misinformation, youth exclusion and unresolved economic and social grievances could undermine peaceful elections if left unaddressed.
The partners said the faith institutions, under Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK), were uniquely positioned to intervene because of their reach and influence at community level.
They committed to establishing a National Interfaith Elections Peace Coordination Committee, co-chaired by NCIC and IRCK, to coordinate peacebuilding interventions in line with NCIC’s elections roadmap and Kenya’s national peace and early-warning architecture.
The committee will also develop mechanisms for monitoring emerging threats, mobilising resources and reviewing progress throughout the electoral cycle.