Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi has criticised Gen Z for their stance that they do not have a leader to represent them at any level of leadership.
Gen Z, the faces behind the persistent anti-government protests, have insisted that they have no leaders, even as they push for accountability from public officials and institutions.
To Ngunyi, this is not a proper way to handle things, and he terms it an insult to the nation’s imagination.
“How can a clever country like Kenya be held hostage by nihilists calling themselves leaderless? If they are headless, what are they using to think? And what will they use to lead? This is an insult to our national imagination,” Ngunyi said in a post on X on Sunday, July 21, 2024.
He warned the youth against engaging in chaotic demonstrations that threatened the security of the country.
“My point is that in politics, as in romance, you never cherish what you have until you lose it. You never know the value of what you have until it becomes a tormenting memory. If Kenyans want to burn their country, do it. It is yours. Then you can feed your children on its ashes!” he said.
President William Ruto has been under constant pressure from the youth, who demanded the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024. The Head of State bowed to pressure and threw away the proposed law, but the pressure did not go down.
The youth kept protesting both on the streets and on online platforms, and Ruto’s next step was dissolving the cabinet. This, too, did not decrease the pressure on him.
Ngunyi, while defending the president, says the insistent youth may end up causing more problems than the country is facing.
“Ruto had a cabinet of 22. He has reappointed six. Of the 22 CSs, 16 stand fired. How is that unreasonable? Kenya is in a dark place. We are like a blind man in a dark room, chasing a black cat that is not there. We crave anarchy. It is better than Ruto. Are we tempting fate?” he said in a separate X post.
Ruto vows
Even as Nunyi sounds more warning, Ruto has vowed to end the protests, saying enough is enough, with Gen Z threatening that more protests are on the way.
“Going forward, we will protect the nation. Going forward, we will protect the nation. We will protect life, and we will protect property. We will stop the looters, we will stop killers, we will stop anarchy, and we will stop mayhem because Kenya is a democracy and we want a peaceful, stable nation,” Ruto said.