One of the issues likely keeping President William Ruto awake at night is the realization that Kenyans can now organize protests without being led by opposition leader Raila Odinga.
In political and military matters, it’s easier to deal with a known enemy. It’s truly perplexing to receive blows from unknown people because you can never anticipate their tactics.
You can’t fully understand their strengths or typical behaviors in confrontations, leaving you scratching your head and losing sleep over the situation.
I believe this is an exceptionally challenging time for Dr. Ruto as the country’s leader because he cannot use the strategies that his predecessors employed to control Mr. Odinga.
It’s embarrassing for the commander-in-chief and head of intelligence not to know that these protests, organized by the younger generation known as Gen Z, were coming.
To us, this might seem like an economic issue, with citizens refusing to be oppressed by their chosen government, but to Dr. Ruto, it’s a matter of national security.
Since independence, we’ve never seen protesters enter parliament and set the building on fire. And as if that wasn’t enough, they also set fire to the Nairobi County offices.
Could Gen Z have planned something worse? Remember the slogan for last Thursday’s protests? They intended to take over the State House!
Although the youth didn’t succeed in Nairobi, I’m told that Nakuru’s State House is well aware of their faces because they presented themselves there, not just to ‘greet’ the residents but also to warn the country’s leader that his place is not impenetrable.
MPs whose homes were torched and others who were intimidated posted apologies, with some hiding in their homes to avoid confrontation, knowing the situation has changed.
Isn’t it surprising that all this time, young politicians have been insulting Mr. Odinga without ever feeling the need to hide at home out of fear?
Isn’t it surprising that politicians—who used to take every opportunity to address congregants in churches—are now so scared that they can’t even dare to go to churches?
How surprising is it that preachers can’t invite politicians to endless church fundraisers for fear that Gen Z might show up to deliver a ‘message’?
The preachers themselves have suddenly realized that their marriage to the government is illegitimate.
I once wrote in these newspapers, shortly after Mr. Odinga reconciled with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, that Kenyans must find ways to fight for themselves rather than relying solely on Mr. Odinga.
The fact that this has happened right before our eyes, and so quickly, should give us hope, not despair. Had we continued to rely on Mr. Odinga, we might have ended up as politically passive as Tanzanians, who don’t challenge the government to make it listen.
Gen Z is a generation to be respected, not condemned, because it has given our country hope to continue fighting for basic rights that kept our ancestors awake at night.
However, patriotism should be the primary motivation for this generation. I say this because I understand that unscrupulous people, politicians or otherwise, can exploit these protests to manipulate our youth. Let Gen Z remain vigilant!
The government, despite the embarrassment of having its intelligence officers asleep on the job, should regroup and retrain these officers. They should stop sitting in bars recording drunkards’ gossip!
And the government should not ignore the issues that have so angered Gen Z. To dismiss them is to postpone disaster, which will eventually come in the future.