Gen Zs declare Thursday and Sunday demo plans

With the President yet to act on all their grievances, Gen Zs, whose demonstrations are in the third week, have vowed to keep them up.

Through social media platforms, the lot planned more demonstrations today and Sunday to push President William Ruto into action.

So far, the only step Ruto has taken is abandoning the Finance Bill, 2024.

#ThursdayandMonday was trending on X, where the leaderless and tribeless group has been mobilising the countrywide demos.

“Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday are days of the mother of all demonstrations. We are ready for Tuesday and Sunday,” X user Kipchirchir posted.

The calls come despite the President’s promise to interact with the youth through X space, to listen to their grievances and proposals.

“I am open to having an engagement with the young people on a forum they are comfortable with. If they want me to engage them on X, I will be there. I want us to discuss taxation. I want us to discuss unemployment, corruption, all issues,” he said during an interview on Sunday.

July 7, commonly known as Saba Saba and which traces back to 1990 when countrywide pro-democracy demonstrations were held, will be the culmination of the protests.

The protesters threatened to name and shame – expose the images of  corrupt public officials during the demos.

On Tuesday, the protests turned violent after goons criminals infiltrated them.

They looted shops, mugged protesters and vandalised property.

“It's totally true, the peaceful protest was hijacked! This type of vandalism of the expressway has happened before. We know their footprints,” an X user posted.

Last week, the protesters breached Parliament in rage never witnessed in the history of the country.

The demos, initially meant to push the President to drop the Bill, spiraled into full-blown countrywide street protests.

They metamorphosed into a call for sweeping reforms - demanding Ruto institutes radical changes, including firing corrupt officials from his inner circle.

In a new online campaign, agitators say government bureaucrats, including members of Ruto's Cabinet should be fired, with questions about their integrity.

There have been concerns that individuals close to power have become overnight multi-millionaires, openly displaying lavishness, while the masses suffer.

“It’s more than the Finance Bill, it’s the opulence amidst struggle, it’s the arrogance displayed in the face of economic turmoil,” a Rift Valley businessman posted on X.

Additionally, the protesters want Ruto to, among other steps, drop the Chief Administrative Secretary position and change Kenya Kwanza leadership in the National Assembly. 

They also want the funding scrapped for the First Lady's office and those of the spouses of Deputy President and Prime Cabinet Secretary. 

Treasury books showed that the offices of the First Lady and the Deputy President's spouse were allocated budgets exceeding Sh1.2 billion in the next financial year.

Questions are also asked about MPs’ salaries, considered by most Kenyans as being far too high.

Some MPs take home almost Sh2 million a month, depending on their mileage claims.

The state should also publish an audit of how the contributions have been used in the last year, which they want refunded.