IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon has issued a stern warning to political actors attempting to influence or intimidate election officials, emphasizing that such schemes are futile within Kenya's transparent electoral system.

• The warning followed observed "troubling behavior" during the November 27 by-elections, including attempts to pressure presiding and returning officers.
• Ethekon asserted that Kenya's electoral architecture, supported by various stakeholders, makes "stealing elections in this country impossible."
• The IEBC CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan commended staff and stakeholders for orderly voting and smooth processes, noting the polls offered valuable lessons for future operations supported by a Sh798 million budget.
• The forum, supported by the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD-Kenya), brought together political parties, observers, and security agencies, with DCI Director Mohamed Amin reassuring stakeholders of police neutrality.

People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has expressed alarm over increasing repression and democratic decline across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, citing state-sanctioned brutality and shrinking civil liberties.

• Concerns raised about a coordinated trend of state-sanctioned brutality, cross-border abductions, and disregard for constitutional norms during an interview on Spice FM on Monday, December 8.
• Karua cited alleged mass murder during Tanzania’s October 29 elections, police violence during Kenya's 2023 and 2024 protests resulting in deaths, and recurring violence in Uganda during opposition rallies.
• She criticized Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu’s remarks urging countries to "mind their own business," viewing it as contrary to regional cooperation.

The high cost and political motivations behind governors' impeachments in Kenya are highlighted, with legal experts noting substantial resources are expended in these trials.

• Expenditure of "a great deal of resources" on impeachment trials.
• Elias Mutuma and Muthomi Thiankolu, prominent lawyers, have represented governors in numerous impeachment cases.
• The article suggests political grudges are a driving factor behind these multi-million-shilling impeachments.