Kenyan Gen Zs were at the centre of attention during an African Union meeting in The Gambia, earning praise for their courage and determination to champion for a just economy during their countrywide protests in June.
Delegates at the NGOs forum convened by the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in Banjul praised the “courage, determination and creativity of the Kenyan youths”.
The activists met to formulate resolutions for the next AU meeting next year.
They praised the Kenyan youths for raising the bar by selflessly putting themselves in harm’s way to stand for what they believe in.
“Kenyan Gen Z proved the point of the importance of engaged citizenry in processing matters that directly touch on their lives,” said the commission chairperson Rémy Lumbu.
He spoke during the closing session of the three-day conference. Defenders Coalition executive director Kamau Ngugi said while protests are constitutionally guaranteed in the country, the high-handed response by the police, which included abductions of suspected protestors and unauthorised detention, deserved the attention of the commission.
“This commission was the first to release a statement boldly condemning the Kenyan government for its open abuse of human rights to suppress the peaceful protests,” he said.
The officers, sometimes hooded, in plain clothes and in unmarked cars, tracked and plucked youths from the streets and detained them without court authority and for more than 24 hours required by the constitution.
“We stand in firm solidarity with the Kenyan Gen Zs who sacrificed their all or put their all on the line for the sanctity of our constitution and the rule of law,” Ngugi said.
He said the commission’s chairperson was crucial in offering support to the civil society leaders in the country.
“Every time I spoke with the chairman, he always told me that he stood with us,” Kamau said.
In the June 26 statement, that came a day after protesting youths stormed Parliament and police responded with deadly force, the commission said it was deeply concerned with the flagrant abuses.
Through its country rapporteur on Human Rights in Kenya, Solomon Dersso, the AU’s human rights arm said it “continues to follow with growing concern the human rights situation in connection with mass protests against the tax bill in Kenya.”
“The commission has received numerous reports
alleging targeted abductions of number of individuals
of by unidentified individuals endangering their lives,
liberty and personal security,” it said.