Youth Voices at the #scope Inception Forum: Nakuru County youth have expressed Frustration with Duty Bearers, lack of Personal Initiative, and the need for Civic Education and Diversified Reporting channels as the main challenges affecting them.
Unprofessional conduct by some duty bearers in the police service and @IEBCKenya offices in the way young people are handled when they report incidents or visit public offices has affected youth preparedness and participation in the #2027Elections process.
A youth representative from Naivasha accused some IEBC officials in the sub-county of turning away Gen Z youth who visit their offices to register as voters. "We have instances where IEBC officials in Naivasha deliberately turn #GenZ's away when they go to the offices to register as voters," the youth said. "This has made young people lose hope in taking part in any electoral process."
The remarks point to a widening trust gap between young people and electoral institutions, which is one of the gaps the project seeks to close through youth-duty bearer engagement.
Another representative from Molo Sub-county challenged young people to take responsibility. "As youth, we have to ask ourselves why we are not taking the initiative," she said. "Let us take the initiative ourselves and encourage our peers to do the same." The call reflects the peer-led approach at the heart of #scope, in which youth peace ambassadors reach and mobilise their fellow young people.
They also listed unemployment, drug and substance abuse, mental health challenges, political polarisation and recruitment into violent groups, lack of inclusion in decision-making spaces, and a lack of initiative among some young people as challenges they face.
To address these challenges, the youth called for the strengthening of Community Policing Committees, the rebuilding of the relationship between young people and duty bearers such as the police, personal initiative, and more anonymous violence reporting channels that are accessible to all community members.
Youth from Nakuru Town West identified Mazembe, Pondamali and Shabab wards as hotspots for youth mobilisation and called for civic education in these areas.
#ElectionsBilaNoma #2027Elections #YouthInclusion
Who speaks best to young people about peaceful elections? Other young people. That is why, under the Strengthening Capacities of Peace Actors for Peaceful Elections project, @MIDRIFTHURINE is working with Youth Focal Persons across Nakuru County for peer-to-peer outreach initiatives, leading community dialogue, countering myths, and bridging the gap between the community and institutions mandated to work with and for the community: local administration, IEBC, NCIC, the police, and other peace structures.
Young people are at risk during the elections, but they are also agents of prevention, early warning, and de-escalation.
This Project is implemented by MIDRIFT in collaboration with @ELGIA_Africa in support of @UKinKenya.
#scope #ElectionsBilaNoma #2027Elections #usalama107
Tried, Approved and Trusted! Our new #scope brings together duty bearers, peace actors, security agencies, youth, and community members for a safe and secure #2027Elections period. Together, this collaboration will help ensure peace, security, and a violence-free electioneering period next year.
We are building a network of youth peace ambassadors, strengthening peace structures across Nakuru County and promoting the USALAMA 107 platform, so that early warnings are reported, verified, and acted on before tension turns into violence.
#ElectionsBilaNoma #ElectionPreparedness #EWER
@IEBCKenya@ELGIA_Africa@UKinKenya
@Midrifthurinet, in collaboration with @ELGIA_Africa and with support from @UKinKenya, is officially launching a new project, "Strengthening Capacities of Peace Actors for Peaceful Elections" #SCOPE, in Nakuru. The project targets key peace actors, security agencies, duty bearers, and youth from Nakuru East, Nakuru West, Njoro, Molo, Naivasha, Kuresoi North and Kuresoi South sub-counties.
The inception meeting has brought together state and non-state institutions, CSOs, the national government administration through the office of the county commissioner, and other key election-related partners such as the @IEBCKenya to conduct a rapid electoral conflict and youth-vulnerability assessment, mapping out priority electoral risks, youth mobilisation risks, existing reporting channels, and response gaps in the county.
#SCOPE will build an inclusive network of youth peace ambassadors who can recognise possible electoral violence risks, champion conflict de-escalation and counter the mobilisation of young people into violence in the 7 subcounties.
The project will also strengthen peer ambassador networks, de-escalation initiatives, peace hubs, and civic engagement, and will revitalise county-level Conflict Management Panels to verify incidents, share early warning information, link with situation rooms, and support community-based monitoring.
#ElectionsBilaNoma #ElectionPreparedness #2027Elections
Youth Voices at the #scope Inception Forum: Nakuru County youth have expressed Frustration with Duty Bearers, lack of Personal Initiative, and the need for Civic Education and Diversified Reporting channels as the main challenges affecting them.
Unprofessional conduct by some duty bearers in the police service and @IEBCKenya offices in the way young people are handled when they report incidents or visit public offices has affected youth preparedness and participation in the #2027Elections process.
A youth representative from Naivasha accused some IEBC officials in the sub-county of turning away Gen Z youth who visit their offices to register as voters. "We have instances where IEBC officials in Naivasha deliberately turn #GenZ's away when they go to the offices to register as voters," the youth said. "This has made young people lose hope in taking part in any electoral process."
The remarks point to a widening trust gap between young people and electoral institutions, which is one of the gaps the project seeks to close through youth-duty bearer engagement.
Another representative from Molo Sub-county challenged young people to take responsibility. "As youth, we have to ask ourselves why we are not taking the initiative," she said. "Let us take the initiative ourselves and encourage our peers to do the same." The call reflects the peer-led approach at the heart of #scope, in which youth peace ambassadors reach and mobilise their fellow young people.
They also listed unemployment, drug and substance abuse, mental health challenges, political polarisation and recruitment into violent groups, lack of inclusion in decision-making spaces, and a lack of initiative among some young people as challenges they face.
To address these challenges, the youth called for the strengthening of Community Policing Committees, the rebuilding of the relationship between young people and duty bearers such as the police, personal initiative, and more anonymous violence reporting channels that are accessible to all community members.
Youth from Nakuru Town West identified Mazembe, Pondamali and Shabab wards as hotspots for youth mobilisation and called for civic education in these areas.
#ElectionsBilaNoma #2027Elections #YouthInclusion
This year's Amani Clubs National Essay Marking and Evaluation Workshop brought together Amani Club National Officials and county coordinators serving as lead markers and moderators to review the standardized norms and standards for marking English compositions and Kiswahili Insha, anchored in the evaluation guidelines of the Kenya National Examinations Council @KNECKenya
During the workshop, the team produced a harmonized English and Kiswahili marking scheme that can be reused and refined in the coming years, a body of markers now scoring to a common standard, and a written record of the ideas students raised on peace and cohesion. They also documented the key themes emerging from the essays, captured lessons for strengthening future competitions, and began planning the 2027 Amani Club calendar of activities.
Speaking at the opening, Kennedy Kunani, National Chairman of the Amani Club, stated, "Our main objective of this workshop is about essay writing, anchored on peace and education. We want to develop critical thinking, so that our learners can analyze issues and articulate them clearly in an essay." He urged markers to pay close attention to key details and to keep asking how the questions came up, so that standards stay consistent.
Dr. Sammy Gathii, the Executive Director of YADEN East Africa, described an essay as a core one that offers a personal perspective based on analysis. "Knowledge is generated to solve problems, and that is exactly what we want our students' essays to reflect," he said. He challenged participants to think about how essay writing can become more than a competition and take young writers to the point of actual publishing.
Director Kilian Nyambu of the @NCIC_Kenya noted that the Amani Club's work runs through the full school calendar, from debate to essay writing to the recognition that follows through national awards and competitions. He explained that the targeted essay questions help students write about issues in their own communities, such as radicalization, violent extremism, and ethnic violence. This gives peace and security duty bearers critical information, which they share with relevant authorities for response and action.
He also stressed the importance of geographic context, saying that where an essay comes from helps map issues across communities. "It's not just about identifying good writing, it's about understanding what our young people are seeing and experiencing where they live," he said.
The Amani Clubs is an initiative set up to plant #peace, tolerance and national cohesion in learners from an early age. It gives young people in learning institutions across the country a structured space to debate, speak and write their way through the issues that divide communities, enabling them to participate fully in strengthening peace and cohesion in their own communities.
The Friday Jam reflection revealed that the GAME ZONE is a practical platform for peacebuilding, protection, inclusion, and youth development.
Participants highlighted the important role of parents as active partners in creating supportive, safe, and accountable environments for young people.
The discussion also recognized that sporting spaces can expose and address emerging peace and security risks, including violent extremism, by giving young people positive networks, mentorship, belonging, and constructive alternatives to harmful influence.
Plus Sports was also identified as a powerful tool for peace and development because it brings diverse groups together around teamwork, fair play, discipline, and shared goals, while creating opportunities to challenge attitudes and behaviors that contribute to gender-based violence (GBV).
The reflection emphasized the need for age-appropriate engagement, ensuring that activities, communication, and safeguarding approaches respond to the different developmental needs of children, adolescents, and young adults.
The challenge of discrimination, whether based on gender, ability, background, age, or sporting talent, and the need to deliberately design inclusive games where every participant feels respected and valued.
@denmarkinkenya
"The most important part of GAME ZONE may not be what happens during the session, but what we carry with us after the session ends."
As Playmakers, we have seen how quickly a sporting activity can connect people who might otherwise never interact.
Young people meet, parents engage, coaches share experiences, and new friendships emerge.
But the real question for us is what happens after everyone leaves the GAME ZONE.
Does the young person continue believing in themselves?
Does the coach continue mentoring?
Does the parent remain engaged?
Does the friendship created through sport grow into a support network?
These are the outcomes we want to see.
GAME ZONE activities have reminded us that sport can open the door, but relationships, mentorship, and continued engagement keep it open.
For us as Playmakers, the final whistle should therefore not mark the end of the journey but signal the beginning of the next one.
@denmarkinkenya
"GAME ZONE has made me understand that coaching is also about listening, mentoring and building relationships."
As a young Playmaker, I have discovered that our responsibility goes beyond teaching football or organizing games.
We interact with parents, guardians, children and other stakeholders, and those conversations have helped us understand some of the challenges young people experience.
Plus sports give us a language that brings young people together without creating barriers.
A child who may struggle to speak in a formal meeting can express themselves freely through a game.
A parent who comes to watch can join the conversation.
A coach can become a mentor.
Through GAME Zone activities, we are learning how teamwork, discipline, respect, and communication on the field can translate into everyday life.
We are not just producing better players; we are helping create young people who can participate, lead and support one another within their communities.
@denmarkinkenya
"I came to the GAME ZONE thinking my role was simply to coach. I left realizing that being a Playmaker is about much more than just sports."
Through the games, I learned that young people need spaces where they feel accepted, heard, and free to express themselves.
The SOS GAME ZONE has allowed me to interact with children, fellow coaches, parents, and guardians while using sports to build teamwork, confidence, and discipline.
What stood out to me was seeing young people who might normally stay quiet become active, laugh, communicate, and work together.
As a Playmaker, I am also learning to become a mentor and role model.
The experience has challenged me to look beyond sports and understand the person behind the GAME ZONE kid.
For me, Plus Sports is showing that when young people have a safe space, someone to believe in them, and an opportunity to participate, a simple game can become the beginning of something much bigger.
@denmarkinkenya
The reflection session after Friday Jam created a structured space for Playmakers, parents and stakeholders to critically examine whether the sporting activities were achieving their intended developmental outcomes.
Rather than focusing solely on participation, the discussion examined how the GAME ZONE influenced teamwork, confidence, psychosocial wellbeing, leadership, communication and social cohesion among young people.
Playmakers reflected on their effectiveness as mentors, identifying opportunities and challenges in engaging care-leavers and vulnerable youth, while parents and stakeholders considered how their continued involvement could strengthen the support systems around young people.
The reflection provided an opportunity to identify what worked, what needs improvement, and what to strengthen in future sessions, ensuring that Friday Jam evolves beyond a one-day activity into a more intentional platform for youth empowerment, resilience, inclusion, and peaceful community engagement.
@denmarkinkenya
In partnership with SOS Children's Villages Buruburu, MIDRIFT HURINET is facilitating a "Friday Jam" at the SOS Children's Villages in Buruburu, Nairobi, bringing together Playmakers (youth coaches), parents and other stakeholders in an inclusive GAME ZONE centred on fun, sport and meaningful interaction.
Through a series of sporting activities, the initiative creates opportunities for young coaches, parents, and community members to build teamwork, strengthen relationships, and collectively contribute to youth development.
Beyond the field of play, Friday Jam forms part of a broader intervention aimed at empowering young people, particularly care-leavers and vulnerable youth from Buruburu, through inclusive sports, leadership development and community dialogue.
The activities provide a constructive space for young people to strengthen their psychosocial wellbeing, life skills, confidence and social connections while encouraging peaceful interaction and community cohesion.
@denmarkinkenya
The forum agreed that addressing political intolerance, negative ethnicity, livestock theft, and alcohol and drug abuse should remain priority issues that need to be addressed in strengthening cohesion across the three divisions. Participants further resolved to continue collaborating with local administrators in holding regular peace meetings to sustain dialogue and build momentum for lasting peace.
Speaking during the forum, Assistant County Commissioner for Kihingo, Felix Oluoch, urged community members to uphold peace and unity at all times. He also emphasized the importance of collaboration and timely information sharing to strengthen early warning and response mechanisms.
@InteriorKE@ngaosKE@NCIC_Kenya@NSCpeace@NPSOfficial_KE@APSKenya@denmarkinkenya@tendasasa
“Nothing can bring you peace apart from yourself. So it is something that all of us must work for.”
This was the clarion call at today’s interdivisional peace dialogue forum held at Ndeffo Trading Centre in Kihingo Division, Njoro Sub County. Supported by @denmarkinkenya through @tendasasa, the forum brought together elders, women, youth, religious leaders, and local administrators from Kihingo, Mauche, and Lari divisions to reflect on and strengthen community cohesion ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Participants identified key conflict triggers and early warning indicators that threaten peaceful coexistence. They collectively rejected hate speech, incitement, and divisive political rhetoric and reaffirmed their commitment to promoting harmony and social cohesion. They also denounced the tendency to blame entire communities for the actions of criminals and committed to supporting efforts toward the recovery of stolen livestock.
@InteriorKE@ngaosKE@NCIC_Kenya@NSCpeace@NPSOfficial_KE@APSKenya
“The 2027 General Elections should not become a test of how effectively we respond after violence has occurred. They should demonstrate how successfully we can prevent violence before it begins.” Mr. Joseph Omondi, Executive Director, @Midrifthurinet during the 2026 International Day of Peace Commemoration.
“The 2027 General Elections should not become a test of how effectively we respond after violence has occurred. They should demonstrate how successfully we can prevent violence before it begins.” Mr. Joseph Omondi, Executive Director, @Midrifthurinet during the 2026 International Day of Peace Commemoration.
Remarks by the Nakuru County Governor, H.E. Governor Susan Kihika, EGH, during the #InternationalPeaceDay celebrations in Nakuru county earlier today:
"We have gathered here today not only to celebrate peace, but also to ask ourselves a difficult question: what kind of nation are we building for the generation that will come after us?
Peace is not merely the absence of conflict. It is the freedom to disagree without becoming enemies, and the ability to hold different views and still sit at the same table. In this country, we have chosen to treat development as the architecture of peace.
When a young person is in school, a farmer's harvest reaches the market, and a trader can earn an honest living, the ground for conflict grows thin, and the foundation for harmony grows firm. From education to farming to trade, every opportunity we create is a stake in the future of our shared home.
Let us therefore make #peace a part of our democratic culture, something we practice daily and not only in the run-up to elections. The ballot must be an instrument of choice, never a vehicle for hatred."
#IDOP #PeaceDay2026
Happening now at 📍 Nyayo Gardens, Nakuru County.
We join the rest of the world in commemorating #InternationalDayOfPeace under the theme Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere Every Day.
Together with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission, @NakuruCountyGov, youth, women, and community members, among other peace actors, we commit to one act that builds cohesion and enhance peace in the county.
Your voice matters: take small steps to promote positive peace in Kenya.
#IDOP #PeaceDay2026
@denmarkinkenya I @tendasasa I @DIGNITY_INT I @NCIC_Kenya I @NSCpeace I @InteriorKE I @Peace_Cops
Dr. Mark Leleruk, OGW, HSC AIG @APSKenya Program Coordinator - Peace COP, speaking during the #PeaceDay2026 celebrations, emphasized the need for peace actors and duty bearers to align all peace efforts toward one goal, ensuring that the county experiences peace and security throughout.
“Nakuru is the center of peace in the country. We have an early warning and response system, USALAMA 107, which is critical in promoting peace and security in the country. Through the toll-free SMS and call line 107, and through online or Application, the early warning and response system #EWER will help communities report incidents and make our communities safe.”
#IDOP
@InteriorKE I @NPSOfficial_KE I