- Only you can provide leadership and a way out of this quagmire. You need to view this uprising as an opportunity to redeem the malaise and maladies we face as a nation.
- Mr President, our youth are seeking and demanding actions on the raft of issues they have raised, they are not interested in a Multi-Sectoral Forum to dialogue
Image: WILLISH ADUR
Mr President, as you will agree, our country is at a critical crossroads. The scenes of violence in the last few weeks is unprecedented and could be a recipe for anarchy;
Such moments call for patriotism, great leadership beyond parochialism and devoid of brinkmanship.
New challenges call for new and innovative ways to deal with contemporary challenges. Old ways and approaches which are not in tune with the current circumstances cannot take us far in this discourse.
Only you can provide leadership and a way out of this quagmire. You need to view this uprising as an opportunity to redeem the malaise and maladies we face as a nation.
We are saddened by the overzealousness of the police who have and continue to use unnecessary and excess force on peaceful demonstrators in contrast and tragically, we have seen the same police officers stand by as hooligans rampage, loot and destroy private property.
Image: WILLISH ADUR
Image: WILLISH ADUR
As a sign of leadership and patriotism, we urge you to unequivocally and publicly rein in rogue police officers and restrain them from harming, arresting, or kidnapping peaceful protestors.
We urge you to release those in police custody or just missing and for the state to underwrite and meet the costs of those protestors in hospitals and provide assistance to families in the burials of those slain by police. Such a course of action will demonstrate goodwill and empathy on your part as Head of state;
Mr President, our youth are seeking and demanding actions on the raft of issues they have raised, they are not interested in a Multi-Sectoral Forum to dialogue over things and issues which are quite apparent and within your means to do or to initiate within the premise of our laws and constitution.
Specifically we urge you to take the following actions:
1. Trim down the size of your cabinet to fourteen;
2. Rid your cabinet and government in general of those functionaries named in corruption, waste, fraud and abuse of public resources;
3. Immediately reconstitute the IEBC.
4. Undertake and facilitate the audit of our public debt, enabling public participation in an inclusive, transparent and accountable manner;
5. Provide leadership for the prosecution of corrupt individuals at all levels of government. Kenyans need to see heads rolling;
6. Remove all unconstitutional offices
In conclusion, we empathize with our nation, especially with our youth who are wounded, and mourn with the families of the dead and fallen vanguards in our youth, the Gen Zs.
We Muslim leaders and the entire Muslim community remain available to provide counsel, advice and any assistance within our means.
We pray and beseech the Almighty Allah, Lord of the Heavens and the Earth to salvage our nation, Kenya and grant us His Infinite Mercy and Peace to this nation and her people.
Our message to Gen Zs
You represent the feelings, the spirit, the rage and the aspirations of an overwhelming majority of our people.
We share your frustrations, agony and pain
We empathize with you, on the suffering, the maimings and those amongst you in the struggle who have been killed.
Our prayers are with you and we stand in solidarity with you in this struggle.
Whilst we urge you not to relent in your legitimate struggle which is personified by your own brand and character, you must seize the moment and opportunities that are thrust upon you by the circumstances of the moment.
As you will no doubt agree with us, endless protests cannot be an end in itself, rather it is a means to a well-defined end which must be realistic, achievable and within the confines of the law.
Sadly, as was not unexpected, hooligans and anarchists who unlike you are neither peaceful nor share in the objectives of your struggle have infiltrated your protests causing mayhem and destruction and adding to the suffering of the very people you are seeking to speak for. This calls for rethinking and re-strategising without deviating from the cause.
As we have done before during the onset of the struggle, we shall continue to offer you all our spaces of worship and our centres across the country. We do this as a solemn duty to our nation. Your cause is legitimate and you are our sons and daughters.
As your elders, parents and kith and kin, we remain at your disposal for guidance, counsel and any other assistance within our means.
We profoundly thank our youth, the GenZ for acting reasonably to cancel the protests and street demos across the country, which were planned to take place today Thursday 04th July 2024.
The analysis of the circumstances in the country, particularly the fact that some unscrupulous individuals including hooligans, hired goons, and anarchists took advantage and infiltrated the otherwise peaceful protests causing national distress, lootings and destruction of property.