Research draft · records up to 30 September 2026
Match your views to what leaders did.
Two short quizzes. What leaders did counts most. What they said counts less.
Looking for one leader? Read their record or biography, or compare two.
The record, leader by leader
Public reporting up to 30 Sep 2026. Open a leader to compare what they said with what they did.
How this works
Current climate compares you with today's contenders. Every leader adds everyone since independence. Both use the same six dimensions.
The core rule
- Actions come first. Laws, votes, spending, appointments, court cases, and how leaders treated courts, media and opponents.
- Words count less. Where actions are thin, reported manifestos, speeches and interviews can place a leader. Tagged S, drawn dotted, weighted at 60%.
- Reports count least. For people whose job is mostly words, such as MPs and senators, reported or attributed claims can fill a gap too. Tagged H (hearsay), weighted at 40%, never used where actions exist.
- Contradicted words are dropped. They stay visible in "said / did", marked as contradicted.
- Real power now? Only actions count. The President and sitting governors can act, so their promises and hearsay never count. With too little action on record, they stay out of your matches.
- Little power of their own? Some grace. Someone in office with limited power, such as the Deputy President, can still be placed by their words, at the lower weight.
Labels are never evidence. Kenya's 1965 "African Socialism" paper protected private property. The policy counts, not the name.
The six dimensions
Matching
Your answers place you from -2 to +2 on each dimension. Leaders need evidence on at least four of the six dimensions to appear in your matches. Others stay in Records.
Thin evidence is pulled toward neutral: high confidence keeps 100%, medium 80%, low 50%. So a weak record can't outrank a solid one.
Overlap is 100% at the same point and 0% at 3 points apart. The bar is the average, with stated positions at 60% and hearsay at 40%. "Close on" counts dimensions within 1 point. Your headline match is always #1.
More detail
What Kenyans say decides their vote
Asked what will most influence their 2027 vote, Kenyans named these issues (Infotrak, 19 to 20 December 2025, 1,000 adults by phone across all 47 counties, margin of error ±3.1%). The Current climate questions are written around them, and each profile shows where a leader stands on them.
| Issue | Named by | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 46% | Who should carry the tax burden; VAT on fuel and payslip levies |
| Corruption | 27% | Barring candidates facing corruption charges |
| Healthcare | 27% | Who should run health insurance |
| Education | 26% | Free education up to university |
| Youth jobs | 25% | Private business or government programmes |
| Leadership integrity | 23% | Profiles: what leaders said next to what they did |
| Economic management and debt | 21% | Paying down debt before new programmes |
| Security | 16% | Police powers, protests and surveillance |
| Devolution | 11% | The counties' share of revenue |
| Affordable housing | 3% | Who should build homes |
What else sways votes
Other things still decide many votes. This quiz matches you on views about how Kenya should be run, so it treats them differently:
- Tribe and regional kingpins. Ethnic voting is still strong, but only 4 in 10 Kenyans say their community has a recognised political leader (TIFA, September 2025). The quiz never asks your ethnicity or matches on it. It does ask whether a community should vote as a bloc, and whether being close to the government of the day brings development: the "our turn to eat" idea.
- Money and handouts. In a July 2026 NCCK study, 91% said candidates cannot win without giving cash or gifts, and 94% said money strongly sways results. Handouts are not a policy, so they are not matched on, but documented harambees, donations and appeals to ethnic loyalty appear in profiles under "Handouts and ethnic appeals".
- Party waves, coalitions, charisma, fame, fear and rumours. None of these is a view about how the country should be run, so none is matched on. Alliances and defections are in each leader's record.
Reading the tags
- D Documented: backed by a reliable report or public record.
- A Attributed: a named source's claim, not established fact.
- I Interpretation: our reading. Open to challenge.
- U Unchecked: needs verification.
- S Stated position: a promise from someone not in power, weighted below actions.
- H Hearsay: a report or claim about what someone did or said, not verified. Lightest weight.
Your answers
When you finish a quiz, your answers, where they place you and your top three matches are added to an anonymous tally, so we can see how visitors answer each question. Nothing that identifies you is stored: no name, no location, no IP address, only the date. Untick the box under the questions to leave yours out.
Limits
- Current profiles run to 30 September 2026. Alliances move fast.
- Some historical details are tagged U and still need checking.
- One placement per dimension flattens long careers. Read the profile.
- An allegation is not a finding.