Farmers Party leader Kimani Ngunjiri has cautioned that claims or remarks pointing to possible manipulation of the 2027 General Election could damage public trust in the results and trigger unrest after the vote.
Ngunjiri said President William Ruto should distance himself from politicians in his camp whose statements amount to hate speech or could create tension ahead of the election, warning that even a victorious candidate could struggle to govern if Kenyans doubt the legitimacy of the win.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Monday, Ngunjiri said the credibility of an election should matter as much as securing victory, noting that a disputed outcome could leave the next administration facing a serious trust problem.
“Even if Ruto win, I want to tell him and I want to tell Kenyans, even if you win, but you have put poison to the people. How will you run the five years you are looking, and people will not believe that you have won?” Ngunjiri said.
He urged political leaders to consider how their public statements affect confidence in the electoral process, drawing from his experience serving under different administrations led by former presidents Daniel arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta, as well as the current administration.
“When you put those signals, even if Ruto win… people will not believe that you have won,” he said.
Ngunjiri's comments come as the political debate over the credibility of the 2027 election continues, with opposition leaders questioning remarks made by government officials and politicians associated with the administration.
He called on Ruto to take action against members of his political camp whose statements could heighten tensions, saying there was still time for the President to respond.
“So the president should come up this time, and it is not late to deny his own people who are talking hate speech and who are talking things which can bring chaos,” he said.
Ngunjiri also challenged politicians to look beyond the question of securing one or two terms in office, saying the focus should remain on the interests of Kenyans.
“It's not about winning. It's about Kenyans,” he said.
“There is a constitution. Respect the constitution,” Ngunjiri added, warning that Kenya was being taken “in a very bad way”.
His comments came after remarks by Omar during a political engagement in Mombasa, where he suggested that fingerprints of people who had died could be taken before burial and then used through the biometric voter registration system to vote in their names.
“Even if someone has died, we should take their finger before we bury them, put it into the BVR and cast a vote,” Omar said.
The statement drew criticism from opposition leaders, who argued that it raised concerns over possible manipulation of the 2027 electoral process.
People's Liberation Party leader Martha Karua termed the remarks “a seriously grave matter” and said the confidence with which they were delivered was “deeply disturbing”.
Karua challenged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to explain the measures it would put in place to stop votes from being manufactured or voters being impersonated.
Omar later said his comments had been misunderstood, explaining that his message was about encouraging eligible Kenyans to register, participate in the election and ensure that every vote is counted.
"The context that I made in my earlier remarks is that everybody should participate in voter registration and vote, and every vote counts, nothing else,” he said.