Illustration
Kenya’s political class has never looked as perplexed and out of touch as it does now.
Anyone paying even the slightest attention knows that something fundamental shifted on June 25, 2024.
That was the day Gen Z-led protests against the punitive Finance Bill reached their peak, forcing President William Ruto to veto his own legislation, a rare and humiliating retreat for a leader who had never met a foe he couldn’t best.
Since then, the revolution has been on a slow-burning fuse.
The movement, initially driven by the energy of Kenya’s youth, has since evolved into a nationwide phenomenon.
The church has taken a firm and uncompromising stand against government corruption, lies and incompetence. Workers’ unions are in open rebellion.
At public events, prominent leaders closely associated with the current administration have been booed and jeered.
Even the President has had to contend with unruly crowds. It’s a striking reversal of the once-unchallenged reverence enjoyed by our political class.
The discontent is palpable.
So much so that reports in the local press suggest that the National Intelligence Service has resorted to conducting secret surveys to gauge public sentiment.
They needn’t bother.
The mood of the nation is not just hostile, it’s teetering on the edge of mutiny.
Kenyans are fed up with the ruling elite’s tone-deafness, rampant corruption and transparent attempts to rally around a false notion of “unity” designed solely to evade accountability.
For those of us who have long dreamed of a Kenya where the public holds its leaders’ feet to the fire, these are thrilling times.
There’s something deeply satisfying, both intellectually and spiritually, about watching these leaders squirm under relentless public scrutiny.
It’s no wonder many of them are losing their composure and lashing out with insults and threats in all directions.
It’s equally satisfying to watch Ruto welcoming individuals he once labelled as part of the ‘dynasty’ into his government to keep it afloat.
Any pretence by the UDA party of breaking away from the dynastic and tribal politics of the past has been completely abandoned.
The latest Uhuru-Ruto ‘handshake’ goes to show how much the rise of the Gen Z movement has left the political elite utterly disoriented.
The pressure is working, and we must continue to apply it. Their discord is our harmony.
The ruling class will, of course, fight back. We can expect more attempts to bribe and co-opt dissenters, including religious leaders, into compromising their calls for a fairer country.
High-handed tactics, such as unlawful arrests and abductions, will likely escalate.
Efforts to inject tribalism into the national debate will intensify, aimed at dividing Kenyans along ethnic lines. Kenyans must resist these distractions.
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rewrite the social contract between leaders and the leaders.
Here we must thank Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah for throwing his hat into the ring.
However, although his principled activism has inspired many, it would be a mistake for him (or anyone else for that matter) to position themselves as a lone saviour.
What we need is not a Messiah, but a complete overhaul, a new broom to sweep the system clean.
Omtatah and like-minded reformers should therefore focus on building a coalition of candidates for all levels of government—governors, senators, MPs, MCAs—who pledge to enact bold reforms.
These must make a blood oath to the public to prioritise measures such as One, reducing salaries and abolishing CDF.
By slashing the bloated salaries of elected officials and abolishing the CDF, MPs can refocus on their constitutional role of checking executive power.
Two, requiring public officials to use public services: A law mandating that public officials and their families use public hospitals, schools and other facilities would make it harder for leaders to spin falsehoods when they are no longer insulated from the consequences of their poor choices.
Three, adopting a rotational presidency: Kenya’s deeply ethnicised politics could benefit from a Switzerland-style rotational presidency. Rotating the presidency among representatives of different regions and ethnic groups on a yearly basis would ensure inclusivity and dilute the ‘winner-take-all’ nature of our current system.
The events of June 25, 2024, were a turning point, but
they must not be an endpoint. Let’s keep reclaiming
our country
