CLA News / Lessons From the Gen-Z Protests By Faith Odhiambo, President of the Law Society of Kenya
Author: Faith Odhiambo
Position: President of the Law Society of Kenya
Scenes of youthful Kenyans on the streets dressed in patriotic colors, waving their national flag, sharing water bottles, singing the national anthem as well as dancing to popular local Kenyan genres, and chanting patriotic songs have become common scenes since 18th June 2024.
But how did we get here as a country?
The Kenyan citizenry has been through challenges emanating from poor governance, wanton and blatant corruption, abuse of power, and violation of the rule of law among other notorious contemporary impediments to democracy.
While Kenyans have long yearned to have systems that work for everyone irrespective of their race, age, ethnicity, or religion since Independence; the painstaking efforts towards such a change culminated in the enactment of the 2010 Constitution. However, chaotic scenes born out of ineffective government systems and unreliable institutions provide the optimal political climate for Kenya’s high-handed politico, who have indefatigably derailed the implementation of the Constitution thus killing the citizen’s hope for a new awakening.
Contempt for the constitution is manifest among Kenya’s political top brass as principles of leadership and integrity contemplated under Chapter 6 of the 2010 Constitution are casually shoved aside at will by both elected and state officers.
Institutions duly established to protect Kenyans from such excesses and human rights violations have been compromised and frustrated in fulfillment of their respective prescribed mandate. The power bestowed upon various offices and office-bearers is abused daily to the detriment of the helpless poor people of Kenya.
The bane of such systemic issues is the sustained circumvention of the national values and principles of governance enumerated under Article 10 of the Constitution. The said principles were symbolic of the tumultuous events between June and August 2024, particularly, the rule of law; participation of the people, good governance, and transparency and accountability.
Widespread upheaval followed the publication of Finance Bill 2024 and the near-unanimous public position was that the Bill ought not to have been enacted. However, Parliament ignored public participation engagements amid heightened tensions and forcefully proceeded to consider and pass the Bill. What followed were nationwide protests, which were largely peaceful, but some of which claimed lives and property. Cumulatively, this was an illustration of the irreconcilable disconnect between the people and the political class.
Government response to the unarmed youth was brutal; a group of young Kenyans who came out to peacefully to demand for their rights were met with disproportionate and irrational force by both the Kenya Police Service and the Kenya Defence Forces.
At a time when public discontent should have been met with responsive, proactive leadership, the regime reverted to draconian tactics of weaponizing the criminal justice system, excessive force by police, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances to quell the exercise of constitutionally guaranteed democratic rights. While what was needed was a turn towards conformity with the rule of law and constitutionalism, the Government resorted to violation of human rights.
The extent of the violations was gruesome. Hundreds were arrested, maimed, abducted, and killed. In a desperate bid for self-preservation that set a dangerous precedent for the country, the Government deployed the military to deal with peaceful demonstrations by citizens; the protectors of Kenya’s sovereignty were set against the sovereign. The High Court’s ruling on the Law Society of Kenya’s application to have the deployment suspended was an unnerving moment. Thousands of Kenyans joined the virtual court session amid delay by the court; the overarching sentiment? “You are wasting time yet Kenyans are being killed”.
Nevertheless, the court pushed back its ruling twice, ultimately upholding the deployment at 8:00 pm from the initial 3:00 pm. The Judiciary, Kenyans’ last line of defence, had once again failed Kenyans. Undeterred, Kenyans turned to an unexpected alternative; writing to the Chief of Defence Forces to have the military protect civilians from police brutality. That is the peak of a failed system; when the desperation of the people forces them to seek the aid of the same military that has been deployed against them.
Overall, these events bore crucial lessons for Kenya. The resilience of the Constitution, despite efforts to circumvent it, has so far been resounding. To ensure this resilience is not overstretched, the Constitution must be implemented in its entirety as a matter of priority. In illustration, had the management of public funds by the Government reflected the Principles of Public Finance under the constitution, the proposed changes to the taxation regime under Finance Bill 2024 would not have been as widely rejected as they were; they would have been both justifiable and reflective of the economic realities in Kenya.
That the political class remains detached and out of reach to the people and the challenges bedeviling the nation is nothing new. Whereas Kenyans have demonstrated that they are awake to the realities of their present and alive to the ambitions of their future, the three arms of Government must serve and defend the sovereignty of the people.
We must not mistake calmness for peace and the fact that the youth are no longer in the streets must not be misconstrued to mean all is well. I must reiterate that the country needs steadfast leadership now more than ever. The recent events must serve as a clarion call to all those in leadership and those seeking state offices, that service must not just be our earnest endeavour but the foremost purpose of democratic power.
Democratic power must be exercised within the confines of the law and for the benefit of the people. A nation that does not respect the youth and does not nurture its children will no doubt perish before it reaps the fruits of its labour.
Article 55 of the Constitution of Kenya requires that the youth be involved in matters of socioeconomic and political importance in the country. Such provisions are a deliberate acknowledgement of the youth’s invaluable role in nation-building. Elected leaders cannot govern or represent effectively without incorporating the views of the people especially, the Youth.
