Former Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has put Kenyan politicians on caution as the 2027 General Election draws closer.
Kuria noted that high-octane politics is gaining momentum 20 months before the election. He suggested the politicians are polarising the country for political expediency.
According to Kuria, the politics tend to leave the country in instability, with violence likely taking centre stage.
He observed that goonism was being used as the capital in the politics, predicting an ugly outcome of the vote that will make the country unstable politically.
Kuria noted that the international community was keenly following the political developments as they unfold, warning that the players in the toxic politics might end up in the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC).
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"The biggest risk to Kenya's security and democracy is the use of goons as tools of political mobilisation in 2026 and 2027. I have talked to several friends from the diplomatic community. I can tell you without fear of contradiction that some people will end up at the ICC. This time round no witnesses will disappear!" he warned.
Kuria's observation came amid the tough talk among politicians from across the divide.
Those allied to President William Ruto have been taking on their adversaries from the united opposition, which has vowed to remove the current regime in power.
The animosity was witnessed in some of the by-elections held late last year, with the Kasipul and Malava MP mini-polls epitomising the use of violence during voting.
Chaos was witnessed during the high-stake by-elections, with people injured and property destroyed.
In Malava, for instance, vehicles were torched and structures destroyed as the government agents took on their opposition counterparts.
In Kasipul, violence was meted out on Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma, who happened to be the chief agent of the ODM candidate.
Such goings-on are what Kuria warns about, noting that the case would be tight against those Kenyans who end up in the ICC.
The ICC has had a history with Kenya, having tried six eminent citizens accused of having a hand in the 2007 post-election violence that left over 1,000 people killed with over 600,000 displaced
Former president Uhuru Kenyatta, his successor William Ruto, one-time radio broadcaster Joshua Sang, former Kibaki-era minister and MP Henry Kosgei, former senior government bureaucrat Francis Muthaura and ex-police boss Hussein Ali were named among those facing crimes against humanity charges linked to the 2007 unrest.
They appeared on the notorious list released by former ICC prosecutor Moreno Ocampo, which identified individuals accused of orchestrating the violence.
Ocampo suggested their indirect involvement in murder, forcible displacement of people, and rape, among other inhuman acts perpetrated against the victims.
All six suspects were eventually cleared, though at different points in time; Ruto and Sang were acquitted in April 2016.
The judges handling the proceedings concluded that the evidence presented was insufficient to secure convictions. The charges against Uhuru were dismissed in December 2014.
