NAIROBI, Kenya- Democratic Party (DP) leader Justin Muturi has called for the immediate establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC) outreach office in Nairobi, citing what he described as increasingly dangerous ethnic rhetoric in Kenya.
Muturi warned that political messaging appearing to revive memories of the 2007–08 post-election violence could heighten tensions and intimidate communities in the Mt Kenya region ahead of the 2027 General Election.
“We cannot allow the painful memories of our past to be weaponised again,” Muturi said.
He said no Kenyan community should be collectively targeted or threatened because of its political choices, arguing that electoral competition should not be allowed to become a platform for ethnic intimidation or incitement.
Muturi said the proposed ICC presence would serve as a preventive mechanism rather than a response to another outbreak of violence.
According to the DP leader, an outreach office would facilitate early engagement, documentation and preservation of credible evidence while providing a channel through which victims, witnesses, civil society organisations and institutions could raise concerns.
“An ICC presence would also help slow the escalation of genocidal rhetoric by increasing scrutiny and making political actors understand that inflammatory statements, organised intimidation and incitement are not taking place in an accountability vacuum,” he said.
Muturi said intervention should happen before inflammatory rhetoric escalates into organised mobilisation and violence.
“The objective is to intervene while rhetoric is still rhetoric, before it becomes mobilisation, mobilisation becomes violence, and violence becomes mass atrocity,” he said.
The former Attorney-General warned that Kenya should not wait for another crisis similar to the 2007–08 post-election violence before responding to warning signs.
His remarks come as political parties and leaders position themselves ahead of the 2027 elections, with ethnic mobilisation and political alliances remaining sensitive issues in Kenya following the violence that followed the disputed 2007 presidential election.
Muturi urged political leaders to avoid exploiting ethnic divisions for political gain and warned that political power should not shield anyone from accountability.
“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,” he said.
He reiterated his call for the ICC outreach office, saying preventive action was necessary to protect Kenyans and safeguard their constitutional right to participate freely in elections.
“Kenya belongs to every Kenyan, and the right to participate freely in our democracy must never again be secured only after blood has been shed,” Muturi said.
