Who Let The Goons Out? How Peaceful Gen Z Protests Turned…(Device Stolen)

Hello and welcome to Episode 18 of ‘Spill The Tea’ where one of us was typing this in Nairobi CBD when her device got snatched by goons who marauded the city during the anti-government protests. We found it somehow.

Plus President William Ruto held a roundtable interview with both mainstream and digital media outlets. And before you ask, we were not invited.

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On Episode 18:

1. Ruto Meets Journalists At State House
2. Goons On Rampage
3. No Salary Hike For You, No Job For You Either
4. The Standard Group Strike…Before The Big Strike

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Checkpoint

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Housekeeping: Over the past weekend, we made an overall change to one of our colours. Instead of the red colour scheme, we now have a mixture of amber brown and fawn, mainly to reflect the colour of Kenyan tea with milk…however it appears on your cup.

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Ruto Meets Journalists At State House

On Sunday evening, June 30, the country was glued to TV screens and the radio to listen to the highly-anticipated interview with President William Ruto at State House, which we later learnt was requested by his team.

This was in relation to the anti-Finance Bill protests that rocked the country for more than two weeks, and claiming lives as well as leading to casualties in the process. We picked some key areas from the interview with mainstream media houses:

Githurai Massacre

President Ruto denied reports of a massacre in Githurai on Tuesday, June 25 following the anti-Finance Bill protests, referencing an investigation done by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which found no evidence of mass killings in Githurai. Read it here

“BBC on that account went to investigate in Githurai, and of course, you know, you have read. BBC has said there was no massacre in Githurai. There was 1 person who was shot by the police,” he revealed.

The report published over the weekend came from fact-finding investigations by the BBC following reports of the massacre which saw conflicting reports of people killed surfacing all over the internet and news platforms.

BBC had found that old videos filmed in 2022 were being reshared on social media, purporting to show protesters walking along a street carrying flaming torches at the protests.

“The BBC Global Disinformation Unit had previously investigated the clip and discovered that it was recorded in Ghana two years ago. This is not the first time it has been misrepresented.

“Despite the incomplete understanding of what happened in Githurai, as Kenyans woke up on Wednesday morning reports began to spread of an alleged massacre,” read the report in part.

A police report seen by Viral Tea from the Githurai-Mwiki Police Station indicated that a protest that began peacefully turned riotous when an alleged group of about 6,000 became violent and lit a bonfire on a road in the area.

“Police officers led by the sub-county commander tried to negotiate with them to peaceably disperse but they refused and started pelting the officers with stones. A proclamation was read by the sub-county commander but they did not disperse instead turned very violent,” stated the report filed under OB Number 46/25/06/2024 at 9.15 pm.

The KDF Deployment

President Ruto also spoke about the deployment of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) on civilian streets to assist the police in quelling unrest as a result of the anti-Finance Bill protests.

Speaking during a roundtable interview with top journalists at State House, Nairobi, Ruto claimed that he was out of options, adding that the situation would have been worse had he not resorted to deploying the military.

“In my first statement, I clearly said innocent lives were lost and in my second statement I said the same. If I hadn’t done what I did, things would have been much worse,” he stated.

According to the Head of State, it would have been a reckless move had he not directed the deployment of the military, which was largely criticised by Kenyans from all corners and within opposition political circles.

“Many people asked me Mr President, why did you call in the army? What choice did I have?

“It would have been very reckless of me not to mobilize every arm of government and every arm of our security agencies to protect the country and to protect lives,” he added.

The deployment of the military was challenged by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) at the High Court which however ruled that the intervention was justified, though finding that it was clear that the public had not been fully appraised of the extent of the military involvement.

Ruto also claimed that since the onset of the anti-Finance Bill protests, declared property worth Ksh2.4 billion had been destroyed, adding that the damage had been caused by criminals who allegedly infiltrated the peaceful protests to cause atrocities such as burning down a section of the Parliament Buildings.

“I have no blood in my hands. 19 people to the record that I have from the security agencies are dead. Very unfortunate,” he stated.

“As a democracy, that should not be part of our conversation. Ksh2.4 billion of the property had been destroyed. The office of the Chief Justice has been burnt. City Hall has been burnt. Parliament has been burnt,” he added.

His Assurance To Protest Victims

He however assured families of the deceased that investigations into the incidents were underway with a report set to be revealed to the public.

“I am telling every parent, I have kids like they do and I care when there are issues in town where criminals can take advantage of situations and create a situation where the police have to use rubber bullets and live bullets in some cases because that is what an independent police service has to do. I am sure the police have a record and explanation for every incident that they were engaged in,” he added.

“Any life that is lost is something that must bother anybody beginning with myself. When I came into office I said there would be no extrajudicial killing in Kenya and I have made sure that there is no extrajudicial killing in Kenya. It is true that children got into situations where they became victims of the demonstrations. These great young people who have stepped forward to prosecute their agenda, I am certain that they did not burn Parliament.”

Getting Rid Of Offices, Including Rachel Ruto’s

President William Ruto then announced that his administration would scrap off the Offices of the First and Second Lady, revealing that the two offices will cease being part and parcel of the Kenya Kwanza administration beginning Monday, July 1 when the Financial Year 2024/25 began.

“I know citizens have said there is no need for the office of the first lady and second lady but these are offices that have been there but because we have to live within our means, those offices from tomorrow will not be part of our equation because, in the face of what has happened, we have to trim down every other area,” the Head of State explained.

The scrapping of offices, he added, would extend to the Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS).

He said “On CASs, the court declared themselves on that and we have respected that. We are not going to appoint a CAS until our economy can sustain that.”

The X Space: President Ruto gave the Kenyan youth a chance to be heard through an invitation to a direct dialogue via X (Twitter) Space on Thursday, July 4, or Friday, July 5 in a bid to improve his communication with the young people, for which his administration has been largely criticised of. He said “I hear the young people are saying they don’t want a multisectoral forum. Maybe we should have an engagement with the President on X. I’m open to having an engagement with the young people on a forum they are comfortable with. If they want me to engage with them on X, I will be there.” We have since learnt that this space will be held on Friday, July 5, from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm though a parallel one is planned for the same time, until late.

Editor’s Note: a reader asked us why we were not part of the interview with digital journalists despite being a fast-growing digital media house in the country. It was simple, ‘we were not invited’. Probably this current regime hasn’t recognised us yet and it will take the next one to discover us…anyway, there’s a next time.

IEBC: President Ruto promised the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in 10 days, revealing that he received a parliamentary report authorising him to appoint new commissioners for the IEBC. This is in adherence to the demands set forth by the Gen Zs.

Threats to KTN: President Ruto addressed a report by Standard Group Limited TV station, KTN News on Tuesday, June 25 which revealed that the government had threatened to shut them down, directing the TV station that “KTN should make a formal report of who threatened them so that they can be dealt with in accordance with the law. Nobody should threaten any media personality for whatever reason either on account of what they reported or on account of what they did and if I have a complaint with a media house or a media personality, I know where to take them in terms of reporting them to the right agencies and have the matter sorted out within the parameters of the law.”

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Goons On Rampage

What was witnessed during chaotic scenes on Tuesday, June 25 grew a shade worse with goons going on the rampage during anti-government protests in Nairobi and other major towns in the country.

In Nairobi, protesters brought Waiyaki Way to a standstill at Kangemi as they faced off against police officers who tried to prevent them from marching to the Central Business District (CBD).

Protesters in Mlolongo vandalised a section of the Nairobi Expressway, resulting in severe traffic disruptions to and from Nairobi CBD.

In Nairobi’s CBD, specifically at Odeon, clashes between protestors and police manifested into running battles, with reports of stone-throwing and property destruction. One shoe-shinning stall at Odeon was set ablaze with Tom Mboya Avenue closed with stones as youths and protestors faced off.

The unrest extended to various parts of the capital, where additional protests were reported, all without the presence of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officers.

In, Mombasa, peaceful protests escalated into violence. Protesters clashed with police, who responded with tear gas to disperse the crowds. A shooting had occurred at the Ganjoni area of Mombasa by a civilian firearm holder and the alleged owner of Qaffee Point Hotel that left some persons injured, and chaos that led to the torching of some vehicles.

Some business owners resolved to protect their businesses amid reports of looting and break-ins by some protestors. Speaking on live television, a group of businessmen along Tom Mboya Street said they thwarted an attempt by protestors to torch a Shell petrol station on Latema Road.

Officers from the Recce squad arrived at Hamburg House along Tom Mboya Street to flush out a man believed to have been armed and shot a police officer from the top of the building during the protests.

The lone gunman was reported to be on the second floor of the building. Police officers noticed gunshots coming from the top of the building housing a local bank along Moi Avenue.

Govt Response

On Tuesday, Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki announced that the government will crack down on those who are found to have planned and orchestrated the infiltration of the anti-government protests using criminal gangs who caused havoc on public and private property.

Kindiki disclosed that upon completion of the ongoing evidential analysis, the government, in assurance to members of the public, will embark on arresting the planners, executors and financiers of large-scale arson, violent robberies and other felonious crimes.

“The organizers of today’s orgy of violence in parts of Nairobi, Mombasa and several other parts of the Country are reportedly planning to repeat their anarchic chaos and cruel plunder again on Thursday and Sunday this week, and perhaps much more frequently in the future.

“This reign of terror against the people of Kenya and the impunity of dangerous criminal gangs must end at whatever cost. The Government is determined to stop criminals aiming to terrorize the public and harm Kenya, notwithstanding attempts to politicize crime,” he stated.

Business Owners React

The following day, business owners in Nairobi vowed to protect their own premises at all costs from goons infiltrating the demonstrations to cause chaos.

The traders under the Nairobi Business Community who spoke during a press briefing on Wednesday, July 3 called out Adamson Bungei, who is reported to have been reassigned from the Nairobi police boss position, for declining to order his police officers to intervene to prevent the goons from mass-raiding and looting shops in the Central Business District (CBD).

“I want to ask you Bungei, with all honesty, will those children raid the shops of their mothers? Will those children raid the shops of their fathers? It cannot happen,” a female trader lamented in a press briefing, indicating that some unknown individuals were part and parcel of a well-organized criminal syndicate.

The trader announced that the business owners would resort to protecting their premises from any future break-ins, thefts, and arson, even if they had to put their lives on the line. Fortunately, no protests took place in Nairobi on Thursday.

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No Salary Hike For You, No Job For You Either

Meanwhile, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) came under heavy fire for its proposal to increase salaries for not just Members of Parliament but also various state officers from the President to Members of the County Assembly.

As detailed in the Gazette Notice published by SRC in August 2023, the increments were reported to have taken effect on July 1. Per the new rates, speakers of both houses in Parliament were to get an increase from Ksh1,185,327 to Ksh1,208,362.

Furthermore, their deputies would get a pay rise from Ksh948,261 to Ksh966,690 while Majority Leaders would see a Ksh15,251 increase. The leaders who include Kimani Ichung’wah, Opiyo Wandayi, Senator Aaron Cheruiyot and Stewart Madzayo were set to earn Ksh800,019 from Ksh784,768.

New salaries for MPs and Senators were to be Ksh739,600 from the past Ksh725,502.

In the executive, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Cabinet Secretaries and the Attorney General got a salary raise of Ksh33,000, with the officers taking home Ksh990,000 from Ksh957,000 last month.

However, only President William Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua were revealed to have their salaries retained. Ruto will continue earning Ksh1,443,750 as Gachagua continues to earn Ksh1,227,188.

The Response From Parliament

During a Senate session, Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot on Wednesday, July 3 faulted the SRC for being silent during the anti-government protests instead of coming up with solutions to salvage the country’s woes.

SRC was also called out by Kenyans for being insensitive to the current situation by enforcing pay raises that cut across the leadership in government, amidst anti-government protests by Kenyans over the high cost of living and punitive taxes.

“SRC has been silent during these protests. They have to speak and tell us what is it that we do to reduce the wage bill from 46 per cent to mandatory 35 per cent. If it means taking a pay cut, we as members of parliament have been told that we will never do it. We don’t have an option, we must do it,” he said.

“The yearly increment that is being discussed, I saw it being reported or misreported that we are now going to earn more; SRC continues to be silent about it. We must make a resolution and say that we reject even that one in light of the financial situation.”

What They Said

• Esther Passaris: I reject any salary increments. It’s the exact opposite of what we’re calling for; austerity. It’s fiscally unsustainable and our current economic situation can’t absorb it. Let’s work towards living within our means.
• Babu Owino: MPs and other state officers should not be added even a coin. It’s sad to increase salary while Kenyans have no jobs, Kenyans have no capital to start businesses, Kenyans have no money to pay school fees, No money for medication. Say no to salary increments.
• Edwin Sifuna: The SRC is proposing to add Ksh14,000 to my salary. I didn’t ask for it. I don’t need it. It’s still money, in a country where many have no income, but for perspective, I pay close to 300k in income tax every month.
• Governor James Orengo: The salary increases for state officers including governors are absolutely unwarranted at this time
• Millicent Omanga: a betrayal to Kenyans for salaries and other benefits of state officers to be increased at this point in time when there’s agitation for the same to be reduced. We can’t always take Kenyans for fools. Reduce, not increase. That’s what Kenyans are demanding!

Government Action

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria wrote to SRC declaring that he would not implement its Gazette Notice on salary increments for public servants.

In a letter to SRC, the CS noted that while he recognized that SRC is within its Constitutional mandate to set and regularly review the remuneration and benefits of all State Officers, he made reference to the Resolutions of the Third National Wage Bill Conference held on April 15-17, 2024 to reduce the Wage bill to 35 per cent of revenue as provided in the Public Finance Management Act 2012 and the prevailing austerity measures announced by President William Ruto occasioned by the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024.

“As the Cabinet Secretary responsible for Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management therefore, I decline to implement the gazette notice on increased salaries as applies to the Executive arm of National Government and urge the Commission to degazette the implementation of the new salary structure, in its entirety, across all levels of Government,” he stated.

The Council of Governors on its part urged SRC to immediately withdraw the proposed salary increments for all County State Officers including; Governors, Deputy Governors and County Executive Committee Members.

President William Ruto directed the National Treasury to review the Gazette Notice dated August 9, 2023, from the SRC regarding the remuneration & benefits for State officers in the Executive of the National Government, the Senate and the National Assembly, in light of the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024 and the fiscal constraints expected this financial year.

“The President has emphasised that this is a time, more than ever before, for the Executive & all arms of government to live within their means,” State House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed stated on X.

SRC Bows

Addressing the press on Wednesday, July 3, Commission chairperson Lyn Mengich termed the recent budget cuts and the current economic situation in the country as the reasons for the decision to freeze the upward salary review for all state officers following consultations with the National Treasury.

“In consultation with the Treasury, SRC hereby freezes the upward review of salaries for all State officers, and will review the advice for all other public officers, taking into account the current realities of the economy, and a reduced budget to ensure affordability and fiscal sustainability of the wage bill,” she announced.

Furthermore, the SRC boss noted that whatever was frozen would have been implemented in the current financial year 2024/25, but the commission took into account the fiscal constraints and the budgetary cuts.

Budget Cuts = No Jobs

A double-edged sword. As of Thursday night, CS Kuria announced that the government suspended all new and ongoing public service recruitment in a move that threatens to worsen the unemployment crisis in the country.

This was revealed on Wednesday, July 4 when Public Service Cabinet Secretary (CS) Moses Kuria wrote to the Public Service Commission (PSC) to suspend new and ongoing staff hiring, including ongoing interviews, due to anticipated budget cuts.

“Our current expenditure on salaries, allowances, and benefits for public servants exceeds sustainable levels, placing undue strain on our national finances and hindering our ability to allocate resources towards essential national priorities.

“In view of expected budget cuts in the ongoing budget rationalization, therefore, I urge you to halt any new recruitment and any that is ongoing and has not been concluded,” he directed.

CS Kuria further announced that during the suspension of employment, the government will conduct an audit and clean all public payrolls.

Unemployment Statistics

The unemployment situation in the country has been so dire with the number of Kenyans without jobs increasing to more than 2.97 million in the quarter to December 2022 as per data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

More than half of Kenyans without jobs, or 1.54 million people, were between 20 and 29 years old, underlining the growing crisis of youth unemployment.

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The Standard Group Strike…Before The Big Strike

Last week, one of Standard Group Limited’s TV station branches, KTN News, faced threats by the government to shut them down. This week, the media house had to clean up its own affairs…and they were getting more messy!

Standard Group employees from Radio Maisha, Spice FM, Berur FM and Vybez Radio on Thursday morning, July 4 downed their tools, making good their earlier threat to do so over salary arrears going as far back as June 2023.

The employees had on June 28 threatened to go off air starting July 3 if the company had failed to clear outstanding salaries.

The presenters, who host some of the most popular shows on stations under the media conglomerate, walked out of their studios, leaving their listeners listening only to music, demanding that the management honour their contractual obligation.

With management not heeding their plea, the journalists staged a walkout from their respective workstations and converged at the staff cafeteria.

We were informed that the staffers had been at the cafeteria since 7 am waiting for the management to address their concerns.

According to the radio employees, they have not been paid for the months between June to August 2023. In 2024, the employees had allegedly only been paid for the month of February.

Reply…With Sacking Threats

In response, the media house threatened to fire all radio presenters from the radio stations following the walkout, with the management addressing the journalists who had converged at the staff cafeteria, and threatened to terminate contracts should they not go back to their workstations.

Staff at the media house have been vocal about their plight, using organisations such as the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) and the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) to air their grievances and demand immediate action from the management.

Even on their social media channels, many of the stations under the Standard Group umbrella did not have updates as is usual for presenters to drum up fans to tune in.

The media house based along Mombasa Road has been suffering economic challenges with frequent mass layoffs and retrenchment.

The Big Strike Is Coming

Meanwhile, Standard Group has another problem on its way after KUJ on Sunday, June 30 issued a 14-day strike notice to the Cabinet Secretary for Labour on its intentions to stage a work boycott should the company fail to meet four of its demands, a matter that could lead to a total shutdown of operations at the country’s oldest media house.

KUJ had demanded that the media house based along Mombasa Road settle salary arrears owed to its staff, some of whom have reportedly gone unpaid for more than seven months.

The union also called on the company to devise a concrete plan to restore the Sacco by providing Sacco savings contributed by its employees.

This is after it accused Standard Group of defying a directive from Sacco’s regulator, The Sacco Societies Regulatory (SASRA), to prioritise this matter in its debt-settling plan.

“For seven months now, staff at the Standard Group PLC, the oldest media house in this part of the world, have gone through untold sufferings due to unpaid salaries despite hard economic times in the country,” KUJ’s statement read in part.

“The Kenya Union of Journalists, therefore, is demanding an immediate response from the following issues failure to which we shall force a total shutdown of operations of Standard Group PLC in the next 14 days. In this regard, we have issued a 14-day strike notice to the Cabinet Secretary for Labour on our intention to stage a work boycott over the following issues.”

KUJ also called upon the company to remove a cap on medical claims and cease capturing the biometric data of staff to enforce a new directive of reporting time.

Standard Group was also compelled to come up with an acceptable payment plan to clear the arrears, failure to which the staff will not only withdraw their services but also begin auctioning prime assets of the company to recover the funds.

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Other stories we paid attention to for you this week:

1. This week’s newsletter is dedicated to Teresia Nzau , (MPRSK) who won the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Public Relations Division’s Inez Kaiser Award for 2024, which placed her among the top graduate students in the division in America. Read our exclusive story here.
2. Former Nandi Member of Parliament Alfred Keter on Monday, July 1 revealed that he was interrogated regarding his relationship with former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua following his arrest on Sunday.
3. The Orange Democratic Party (ODM) on Tuesday announced its intention to recall six of its members who voted in favour of the Finance Bill 2024 in Parliament. They include lawmakers in Gem, Bondo, Navakholo, Kajiado Central, Ikolomani and Suba South
4. Workers of a Nyeri secondary school are in a fix after their employer sacked them arbitrarily without notice and is threatening to evict them from the school-owned houses before awarding them their dues.
5. The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) on Wednesday, July 3 clarified the election of John Chebochok as its regional director in the Ainamoi Tea Zone, more than a year after he was at the centre of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s undercover investigative feature under the BBC Africa Eye segment which exposed claims of widespread sexual abuse affecting tea farms in Kenya.
6. President Ruto’s daughter, June Ruto, was on Wednesday appointed as the Director of Foreign Service and selected as a participant at the National Defence College. Defence Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale told Citizen TV that “June Ruto, the daughter of the President and staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the 67 students who have started their classes today. She is among the three that were nominated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to do the one-year National Security Strategy that Foreign Affairs, Immigration, KRA, EACC, NIS, DPP, and Ministry of Health among another 29 KDF officers at the rank of Colonel joined.”
7. President William Ruto’s Cabinet commended the professional conduct of security officers during protests against the Finance Bill but announced that it would take decisive action against the officers who broke the law by harming peaceful protesters.
8. Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja on Thursday, July 4 denied allegations of hiring goons to infiltrate the anti-Finance Bill protests to cause havoc and loot businesses in the Central Business District (CBD), claiming that he was in Diani at the time for a Cabinet retreat where they carried out a review of the just-concluded financial year 2023/24
9. What are you doing on Sunday, July 7? Activist Boniface Mwangi is inviting you to a memorial concert at Uhuru Park set to honour protesters who died during demonstrations against the Finance Bill 2024, dubbed ‘ShuGenZ’.

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News Graphic Of The Week

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