KEPSA, in partnership with other stakeholders, launched the Mkenya Daima 2022 Initiative on 10^th March 2022 at the Panafric Hotel. Mkenya Daima is a non-partisan multi-stakeholder platform formed in 2012 with the primary purpose of inspiring peaceful elections and smooth leadership transition thus creating stability which is essential for businesses continuity and prosperity for Kenya as a Nation. Mkenya Daima 2022 will seek to build more on the ‘Wajibu Wangu’ slogan, which is a rallying call for all Kenyans to be responsible for Kenya and to choose the right leaders at every level.

Present during the launch was KEPSA CEO Ms. Carole Kariuki, KEPSA Chair Ms. Flora Mutahi, Dr. Vimal Shah – Mkenya Daima Initiative Steering Committee Chair, Dr. David Oginde – Chair of Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK), Mr. Suba Churchill – National Civil Society Congress (NCSC) Coordinator, Mr. Daniel Juma – Global Peace Foundation, Mr. Duncan Mochama – African Youth Leadership Forum among other stakeholders.

In his remarks, Dr. Shah noted that although elections in a democratic society are important, it’s also critical to get back to work when the electioneering period comes to an end. “Today’s launch forms the fifth phase of the Mkenya Daima initiative where we will not only focus on pushing for peaceful and credible elections and smooth transition of leadership but also seek to rally Kenyans around their civic duty to vote and choose the right leaders at every level with the rallying call, Nitatenda Wajibu Wangu (I will take responsibility), which builds on the previous rallying call Wajibu Wangu,” he remarked.

On her part, KEPSA CEO Ms. Carole Kariuki noted that the initiative will focus more on good and accountable leadership in power, accommodate positive gains and growth opportunities for the country. “We need to look at what are the gains on all the areas economically, socially, politically, what we need to build on, and where we need to make changes to achieve good governance in our country,” She added.

Dr. Oginde called on religious leaders to urge worshipers, whom they meet every week, to behave responsibly to ensure that the nation is peaceful. He said that “Irrespective of your status in society, if chaos breaks out in this nation whether from within or without, once you get out of the borders of this nations, your name changes into a refugee, and so we must work hard to build this nation together.”

Speaking on behalf of the Civil society, Mr. Suba noted that the initiative is committed to working and supporting institutions that are charged with the mandate to oversee elections to ensure that they deliver effectively, devoid of the challenges that have been experienced in the past. He also pointed out the need of interrogating the contents of ethical aspirations of leaders seeking to be elected.

Mr. Juma insisted on the need to send out positive messages of peace noting that Kenya is not unique to other democracies that will always have some level of excitement during the electioneering period. He also noted that Kenya is a vibrant democracy and this does not in any way translate into a violent nation.

Mr. Duncan Mochama noted that “The history of Kenya and Africa, in general, has taught us that youth have a much bigger role to play when it comes to elections and management of it and this can be seen in the sheer number of those who have stood up to vie for elective positions and also its management.”  Mr. Mochama cautioned that fake news and propaganda have been used to divide the youth while urging the youth to be careful not to be exploited by politicians.

The KEPSA Chair assured that all organizations under KEPSA will stand for a peaceful election because all businesses need the economy to work. She at the same time appealed to all Kenyans to also commit towards a peaceful election while noting that KEPSA was working with other government agencies and institutions to ensure transparency and fair election management. “We need to elect people who are going to actually stand with us, they are our leaders, they are going to create the laws that are going to govern us,” She noted.

The event culminated in the official signing of the leadership and peace pledge by all Mkenya Daima Initiative stakeholders. By signing the pledge, the stakeholders publicly express commitment to upholding the Mkenya Daima spirit of good leadership and accountable governance, as aligned to the Constitution of Kenya, especially Chapter 6, which speaks to Leadership and Integrity, in addition to inspiring a peaceful and fair 2022 general election process, for a prosperous, thriving and peaceful nation.

The Mkenya Daima Initiative includes the Private Sector, the Religious Sector, the Civil Society, the Media, the Diplomatic Community, the Public Sector – both at the National and County level and Organized Sector Groups including Women and Youth. The initiative will seek to engage primarily with new and lapsed voters between the ages of 18 and 34 years on diverse topics around peaceful electioneering, responsible voting while championing a people-centred and economy-led manifesto with all presidential aspirants.