Exactly a year to the 2027 General Election, concerns are mounting over what civil society terms a familiar and dangerous pattern of organised political violence and hired goonism.
The International Commission of Jurists says the exploitation of economically vulnerable youth, coupled with rising hate speech, risks fuelling instability as the country heads to the polls.
As Mary Muoki reports, the warning comes amid questions over accountability, with the National Police Service pushing back against perceptions that it is at the centre of the problem, instead pointing to what it terms broader societal and political drivers.
