Youth recruited to spot election threats across 11 counties

Assistant Inspector General of Police and National Disaster Management Unit Director Dancun Ochieng. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]

Young people will be deployed across 11 counties to monitor early signs of electoral violence, misinformation and hate speech as the country heads towards the 2027 General Election.

The initiative, dubbed PeacePulse, seeks to strengthen the role of young people in preventing violence and promoting peaceful elections through monitoring both physical communities and digital platforms.

Search for Common Ground Kenya launched the 20-month Youth-Led Early Warning and Digital Safety for Peaceful Elections campaign in Nairobi last week.

The project will operate in Nairobi, Machakos, Kajiado, Kiambu, Homa Bay, Migori, Mombasa, Lamu, Tana River, Nyeri and Garissa counties.

“We are working with young people in 11 counties who will be listening to the conversation and tensions both physically and also in the digital spaces and providing reports and providing analysis in the digital and physical community meetings,” said Search for Common Ground Kenya Country Director Judy Kimamo.

The youth will report emerging threats and work with authorities to support timely intervention before tensions escalate into violence.

Assistant Inspector General of Police and National Disaster Management Unit Director Dancun Ochieng pledged government support for the campaign, citing the role of young people and digital platforms in shaping election-related conversations.

“The majority of Kenyans are youth and they rely on social and new media and various spaces for information. And we want to ensure that the information they receive or disseminate concerning the elections is meant to ensure we have a peaceful election by the end of the day,” Ochieng said.

He noted that authorities would act on threats identified at an early stage.

“Any kind of misinformation, disinformation and activity that may cause a breach of peace is looked into at the earliest stages,” he said.

West Kasipul Ward MCA Vickins Bondo urged young people to pursue empowerment opportunities rather than participate in political violence.

“We are appealing to the youth to start exploring different avenues for empowerment programmes for our own selves as opposed to engaging in chaotic events that make us weak and erode the morals that we value in our society,” Bondo noted.

Search for Common Ground Kenya is implementing the project with Kenya Community Support Center (KECOSCE) and Kenya Coalition on Youth Peace and Security (KCYPS), with support from the German Federal Foreign Office.