Leaders in Mombasa have raised concern that young people are being used to spread inflammatory political messages on social media ahead of the 2027 General Election, The Eastleigh Voice reported. They warned that the youth could bear the cost of political hostility long after their sponsors have moved on.
Mining and Blue Economy CS Hassan Ali Joho warned politicians not to turn political competition into hostility. He urged them to sell their policies and development agendas instead of attacking opponents. Joho said Kenyans should be able to back different parties without becoming enemies. He added that political differences should not damage relations between communities.
Joho also cautioned against using numerical strength to intimidate minority communities. He called for equality and equity.
Governor Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir told young people not to accept money from politicians to attack rivals or share divisive messages. He said such actions could damage their future prospects. Politicians often reconcile after political contests, he said. That leaves the young people they mobilised to deal with violence, arrests and broken relationships. He urged the youth to look beyond quick cash and avoid confrontations that could cost them their lives and futures.
Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohamed called on the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to step up its work against hate speech and political incitement, especially on social media. She said divisive posts could fuel tensions in communities and eventually trigger confrontations on the ground. She urged the institutions charged with promoting national cohesion to enforce the law against people spreading such messages.
The leaders spoke at the launch of the Technical University of Mombasa's (TUM) Slash the Hate campaign. The campaign targets hate speech, misinformation and political incitement, with a focus on responsible social media use. TUM Vice-Chancellor Professor Leilah Abubakar said young people must be part of conversations about political tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Political activity is expected to intensify before the 2027 polls. The leaders called for greater vigilance against messages that could deepen divisions between communities.