Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi has called for the immediate establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC) outreach office in Nairobi, warning that rising ethnic rhetoric could revive the fear and trauma associated with Kenya’s 2007–08 post-election violence.
Muturi said political messaging targeting communities, particularly in the Mt Kenya region, risked creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation ahead of the 2027 General Election.
In a statement on Sunday, the Democratic Party leader urged political leaders to avoid using ethnicity as a tool for political mobilisation, saying no community should be threatened or discouraged from exercising its constitutional right to vote.
“We cannot allow the painful memories of our past to be weaponised again,” Muturi said.
“No Kenyan community should be threatened, collectively targeted or frightened out of exercising its constitutional right to vote. Political competition must never become a licence for ethnic intimidation or incitement.”
Muturi said the proposed ICC presence should be viewed as a preventive measure rather than a response to another outbreak of violence.
He argued that an outreach office would strengthen early engagement, documentation and preservation of credible evidence while providing a channel through which victims, witnesses, civil society groups and institutions could raise serious concerns.
“An ICC presence would strengthen early engagement, documentation and preservation of credible evidence,” he said.
Muturi also said credible evidence relating to conduct within the ICC’s jurisdiction should be preserved and assessed before being presented to the relevant accountability mechanisms.
He said greater international scrutiny could help discourage political actors from making inflammatory statements or organising intimidation, particularly as the country moves closer to the 2027 polls.
The former Attorney General warned that ethnic rhetoric could escalate if left unchecked, outlining a progression from inflammatory speech to mobilisation, violence and ultimately mass atrocities.
“The objective is to intervene while rhetoric is still rhetoric, before it becomes mobilisation, mobilisation becomes violence, and violence becomes mass atrocity,” he said.
Muturi said Kenya should not wait for a repeat of the 2007–08 crisis before taking warning signs seriously.
“Kenya must not wait for another 2007–08 before the international community takes the warning signs seriously,” he said.
He called on political leaders to exercise restraint and respect the rights of all communities to participate freely in elections.
“My message to political leaders is unequivocal: do not weaponise ethnicity, do not manufacture fear, and do not imagine that political power places anyone beyond accountability,” Muturi said.
“Kenyans will not be intimidated into submission,” he added, insisting that prevention must begin before lives are lost.