Nominated Senator Crystal Asige has not held herself back from criticising the current national leadership over their latest approach to calls made by the Kenyan youth.
Sharing on her X account on June 28, 2024, Crystal told legislators that their trust among the young people was broken and that they had had enough of their lies. She added that legislators had enough time to hear their pleas, but now it was time for the youth to speak.
Further, Crystal pointed out that it was wrong for them to use live bullets on peaceful demonstrators. In a patriotic gesture, they even displayed Kenyan flags.
“You will never convince our generation that you can ever be trusted, ever again. When young people marched patriotically, wearing Kenyan flags on their backs and raising their voices, you responded with bullets and death. And now you have supposedly ‘heard’ and want dialogue? For 20 months you have been speaking, it’s our time now,” Crystal added.
Senator Asige made it clear to President William Ruto and his administration that it was the wrong time to begin a dialogue with Kenyans, pointing out that all plans were overtaken by events and they needed to just act if they listened to what the youth wanted.
“No more commissions of enquiry, no more multisectoral taskforces, no more reports, no more diverting our attention. If you have heard us, then no more talking—just act,” Asige added.
You will never convince our generation that you can ever be trusted, ever again. When young people marched patriotically, wearing Kenyan flags on their backs and raising their voices, you responded with bullets and death. And NOW you have supposedly ‘heard’ and want dialogue? For… pic.twitter.com/8o6DNlzcLH
— Crystal Asige (@CrystalAsige) June 28, 2024
Asige emphasised that if the current leadership truly wanted to connect with the youth, it was time for tangible actions, not just empty promises.
Additionally, the Senator reminded the legislators that the recent demonstrations were a wake-up call to the leaders, urging to have Members of Parliament (MPs) sacked and the constitution amended promptly if they wish to regain the trust and respect of the younger generation.
“This will go down in history, and we are no longer in an era where history can be manipulated. We want to wake up in the morning with budget allocations reworked, with the Appropriations Bill overhauled, your MPs sacked, your Cabinet Secretaries sacked, the wheels of Constitutional amendments to begin turning, and your resignation on Gen-Z’s desk for them to decide whether to accept,” Asige remarked.
Asige’s statement comes days after she shared her harrowing experience during finance bill protests.
Protestors rescue MP
In the wake of the controversial bill’s passage, Asige, who has a visual impairment, described chaotic events in Parliament.
Amid the commotion, Asige commended the demonstrators for an instance of humanity and solidarity which she witnessed when a disabled MP who had endorsed the bill was left stranded in his wheelchair without his security detail.
“Three young protestors came and saw him and instead of looking him in the face and confronting him about what he had done, they helped him. They helped him get into the tunnel so he could also be taken to Bunge Towers for safety. And then they went back and joined their fellow protestors,” Asige recalled.
It was then that Asige was convinced that the young protestors’ primary aim was to have their voices heard, not to incite violence.
“What I am trying to say is that these young people just wanted their voices to be heard. They are not evil. They had the opportunity of putting more violence on us MPs, but they did not,” Asige stressed.
