National Assembly leader of the majority Kimani Ichung’wah has blamed parents and the church for what he termed as young people’s ‘disrespectful’ tone towards elders in the political and social arena.
Ichung’wah claimed that the church had also failed to teach them correct morals.
The Kikuyu MP added that the tone young people are using towards leaders could never be used years back.
“We have failed as parents and the church. Many of the things that we should be teaching our children in our homes and churches have failed. We have also failed to show our children to go back to church,” Ichung’wah stated.
Ichung’wah faulted some leaders saying they abandoned their role to guide Kenyans and became politicians.
“Some of the words our children were using against leaders, their parents and their own country, those of us who grew up earlier would never imagined using those kinds of words," he said.
“They became politicians; spoke more of politics than spiritual guidance.”
The legislature spoke on Sunday during a church service.
The young generation commonly referred to as ‘Gen Z’ led anti-government protests across the country.
They raised their voices about injustices and over-taxation through social media.
Gen Z could greet ‘salamia’ leaders who had a contrary opinion on their stance.
The protests that lasted close to two months left people dead with many others nursing serious injuries.
On Saturday, President William Ruto called on parents to embrace their responsibilities.
Ruto said that most parents wait for the government to take care of their children.
The President added that the government cannot take over the responsibilities of parents.
“Our priority as parents is to take care of our children; we should teach them the word of God and advise them against bad behaviours. Most parents leave their responsibilities to the government,” Ruto said.
The President, however, said that the government has the mandate to take care of the education, health and other responsibilities of their children.
He said that criminals perpetuating the illegal acts are children who have gone astray.
Ruto called on parents to guide their children on the right path to avert such incidences.
“The criminals we deal with are our children from our homes. It is our responsibility to guide them to ensure they do not become offenders. We will intervene firmly to deal with criminals—those who kill, engage in drug trafficking, femicide, and other unlawful acts,” Ruto said.
“I ask of you as parents and especially as mothers, to look after our children, mentor, and teach them and make sure that we have parents who are concerned about their children.”
He said that, if children go astray, the country will not have a future.
“There is no government that is going to take over the place of religious leaders and moral guides, it is a collective project. It is a project that involves all of us and everyone must play their role,” he said.
“Finger pointing and blame game will not help us, each and everyone must do their bit. Do your part as a mother, do your part as a father and as religious institutions and the government must do its part.”