By Anderson Ojwang
Immediate Former president Uhuru Kenyatta could have reignited the dimming light of the Gen Zee movement by asking them to wake up and fight for their rights.
In what could be viewed as a departure from what was initially viewed as a handshake with President William Ruto, Uhuru has reawaken the ghosts of the Gen Zee movement that threatened the current regime over the finance bill and high cost of life.
President Ruto recently flew to Ichaweri in Gatundo, Uhuru’s home where he hinted at a possible handshake with his former boss and subsequently appointed the former President’s allies to the cabinet positions and various government posts.
Uhuru who spoke in his village of Ichaweri challenged youths to wake up and fight for their right and should not fear the consequences of the struggle.
“ The problem of people these days. You and I, it’s like you have become cowards. Gen Zees you are the story of the future, fight for your rights bwana.
Do not just sit around. You have sweated for what you have. Do not accept. Fight and ensure you get your rights. listen and get me right.
It is not about just sitting. Nothing lasts forever. But everything is worth a fight for. If you don’t fight for it, if it goes, let nobody cry.
Stand up and fight for your rights. You have these young children who are ready, let them join hands with you in the fight for your rights.
Let nobody take your hard-earned sweat. The world doesn’t work like that. People who do not fear will live longer, my friend went to detention and he came back and continued with his life.
Even you fight for your rights. It’s not about sitting and fearing. It is us who should be afraid. Let us now watch. it is you who have the strength and energy to fight. We are behind you. Fight on,” he said.
Generation Z, or Gen Z, is the generation of people born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s. They are also known as Zoomers or Centennials.
The Gen-Z demonstrations have their roots in a myriad of political, economic, and political failings that have built up for decades. However, the spark of the deadly June riots was the passing of the now-withdrawn 2024 Finance Bill, which proposed new tax measures that would have further exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis.
Through this Finance Bill, the Kenyan government had anticipated raising an additional 2.7 billion US dollars to reduce budget deficits and service loans.
The new measures were going to affect basic foodstuffs like maize flour, cooking oil, bread, and other essential commodities like sanitary products.
Alongside the Finance Bill, the Kenyan government had tabled various pieces of anti-citizen legislation before parliament including the controversial Land Laws Amendment Bill, the Assembly and Demonstrations Bill, and the Carbon Market Regulations.
The proposed legislation sought to impose limits on people’s right to land, food, livelihoods, and free assembly. Therefore, the government’s insensitivity around the Finance Bill, a host of unpopular pieces of legislation, and protracted civil service strikes came together to create fertile ground for the demonstrations.
The Gen-Z demonstrations assumed a party-less, tribe-less, and fearless identity. Unlike previous actions, a majority of the actors this time came from a young, educated, and middle-class demographic — a once privileged socioeconomic category in Kenya that increasingly faces a lack of opportunities.
President Ruto responded to Gen Zees by budging into a host of concessions in a bid to calm the protests.
The unprecedented protests nearly brought Ruto’s administration to its knees and threatened to end his rule.
They also demanded, among other issues, tough measures against corruption, impunity, incompetence within the state and public appointments, opulent lifestyles of public officers, unemployment, and high cost of living.
In days that followed, President Ruto responded in a radical way to address concerns by Gen Z by first rejecting the Finance Bill, 2024, and returning it to Parliament for deletion.
In a radical move, President Ruto announced that his administration would embrace budget cuts in response to Gen Z protests.
Other key reforms include reducing the number of government advisors by 50 per cent and removing the confidential budget including for his office following an uproar from the public
Ruto also announced a raft of measures, including a presidential task force on forensic audit and public debt, a health task force and sic day multi-sectoral dialogue.
Then Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua before he was impeached said “ I am happy to engage the Gen Z to tell us whom to engage because they are tribeless and have no organizational structure.
I appealed to Gen-Z to stop protesting and intimidating leaders, as President William Ruto embarks on a multi-sectoral approach to address issues raised during the 2024 Finance Bill protests. This even as he cautioned leaders to stop high-octane and divisive politics.
But then tides turned against Rigathi after his allies and seven officers in his office were grilled by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in connection to the protests that have rocked the country.
Last year, after a month of Gen Z protests across the country, DCI officers zeroed in on some top officials they suspect to have spent at least Sh50 million in financing the demonstrations which led to the breach of the parliament and other key institutions.
But later Rigathi said “My children are of the same Gen Z. No parent should have to bury their child, especially in such circumstances. I cry for our children; I am unable to bear the pain of innocent young children whose only crime was to air their views in a democratic country,”.
The then internal Security Minister Prof Kithuri Kindiki when he appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security on September 26, 2024, claimed that some of the allies of Rigathi financed the demonstrations and that they would soon be charged in Court.
Azimio leader Raila Odinga then heaped praise on the young generation popularly known as Gen Zs for leading Tuesday’s anti-Finance Bill protests.
But he also faced a backlash from the youths after he entered into dialogue with President Ruto that birthed broad-based government and thawed the countrywide demonstrations.
“I am happy to confirm that we have had consultations and have agreed that a dialogue is the way forward out of the crisis that we are facing today in our country,” Odinga said.
