A typical human rights 101 lesson starts with a conversation on the circumstances leading up to the global agreement of states on the protection of human rights called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). We are reminded that the global community was shocked by the devastation and atrocities of 1939-1945 World War two and declared that henceforth, all human beings shall be treated with dignity and that their rights and fundamental freedoms shall be protected. 

States have domesticated these agreements. Kenya, which emerged from a repressive dictatorship era and the devastation of 2007 post-election violence, introduced a whole Chapter 4 on the Bill of Rights in its constitution to protect itself from the excesses of the state. Kenya has since 2010 guarded selflessly guarded their their supreme law because they know the value of constitutionalism for a functional democratic society. 

Of all the fundamental rights ever codified with respect to how a society can craft and reshape its affairs, the right to protest is the alma mater of popular sovereignty. One would be right to say that Kenyans are alarmed that an aspect of this proposition is slowly sinking back into the national psyche in Kenya. In the last few days, the country is abuzz with what is largely christened the Generation Z revolution. 

In stride, young Kenyans have been mobilizing across the country to protest this year’s Financial Bill (just passed by the National Assembly) and condemn the overbearing tax proposals in the budget. Through protests, they are exercising one critical right on participation in governance process – where their votes and their representative do not represent their interests, they can exercise their right peacefully and unarmed, to assemble, demonstrate, picket and to present petitions to public authorities. 

What has been interesting though for this new generation of protesters is the fact that that they are being collectively regarded like a new discovery! 

Indeed, they are. The country, despite eons of public discussions of its pyramidal demography and the attention that its youth bulge should be given, including the need for accelerated expansion of economic opportunities that would muster the future stability of the country, it appears that key decision makers have often ignored this call. For starters, the constitution clearly recognizes the exclusion facing the youth, women and persons with disabilities and requires affirmative action measures to address them, something that has been casually ignored.

It is apparent too, that Kenyans generally have consistently dismissed this generation to a point that not much attention has been directed to its independence of thought, growing proclivity for political self-determination and the power to organize for their own interests.

This can be an ideological debate but nonetheless the country is currently swept down its own feet by the fervent show of the youngsters that they have a political stake in the affairs of the country. Their mobilization acumen, strength in numbers, (numbers make up the power of the people) and their disconnection from vices that have crippled similar past initiatives namely tribal affiliations, cash handouts etc have caused discomfort for bearers of power.

Whereas the state machinery has always prepared itself around the subjectively partisan and jaundiced stereotypes of politically led demonstrations, it has fazed in the face of the situation of having to face teenage girls asking for tax reliefs on sanitary towels and baby formulas for their children; or youthful tech honchos grimacing high taxes on telecommunication data and mobile gadgets, or bemoaning taxes on money transfers among other issues on the debate about high cost of living in the budget. The police officers deployed across the country have faced situations where they have to confront agemates of their children rather than the poor urban hoodlums that they have been used to chasing down the alleys with as skimpy sympathy as the clothes covering the backs of the victims.

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) rose up this time around to avail to protesters found in the trap of the retrogressive public order legal framework in the country, which still sanctions the right to lawful protests and demonstrations. Across the country, volunteer lawyers have been trooping into the police cells to assist some of the demonstrators held by the police over the demonstrations, businesspeople freely shared food, water and respite spaces while medics came closer to the people to the streets to treat those injured by the police who despite peaceful nature of the protests still unleashed brute force.

 Invariably over 400 young demonstrators found themselves locked up in the capital city’s police stations, mainly Central Police Station, Parliament Police Station, the Railways Police Station, and Kamukunji Police Station.  The situation was replicated in other towns as well. The swift action by the LSK leadership and its membership nationally has been laudable. Even more important is that the Gen-Z community sacrificed their meagre incomes to support each other when in distress. 

In the full outlook of the Financial Bill demonstrations, the Gen Z – aware that article 37 of the constitution guarantees them the right to assemble, demonstrate and picket while observing peace and nonviolence – has literally knocked onto their doors of their political ambition to reorder the country in their own image and vision. 

Kenya has not yet apologized to some these young boys and girls who were teargassed or watched their colleagues suffer at Lang’ata primary in January 2015 to protect their school. They have also silently witnessed time and again their parents agitation for expanded democratization and the fight for the new constitution in the country, after the turn of the millennium.  They were born into a socially liberal but hugely divisive debilitating political culture as the 2007/8 post-election violence in Kenya evinced. It is now clear to many that the youngsters have been struggling with history.  

The demonstrations have condemned ethnicity, patrimonialism and gerontocracy of the local leaders in all their dimensions. This generation of Kenyans may have taken longer to comprehend what the founding fathers like Jomo Kenyatta, Oginga Odinga, Tom Mboya, Gideon Ngala, Kungu Karumba, Pinto Gama Pinto or Bildad Kaggia were about and their vision for the country, but sure they have showed their zeal to craft a country in the image of fairness, justice and progress as these patriarchs may have wanted. 

It also means that the flavor of history does not in any case perish with time but rather it thickens to fruition. It is all too clear that the civic education aspirations founded in that period of time, about the same age as they are, have blossomed and the race to re-order Kenya’s political affairs is on. The baton for change is alive. This is fair to say because songs, slogans and philosophies that underlined the people’s movements of the period, buoyed by civic groups such as the National Constitution Executive Committee (NCEC), the Citizen Constitutional Change Committee (4 Cs) as well as the Release Political Prisoners (RPP) led the charge in the several processions across the country. These songs, mainly inspired by the tunes from the South Africa anti-apartheid clarion anthems have been emphatically sang in the assemblies escorted with the reminder of ‘bado mapambano’ that they would definitely have heard the first time as children.

In the multiple police stations handling the ‘unlawful assembly’ and ‘rioting’ suspects over the period, the youngsters have shown that their voice can no longer be swept under the carpet. Their high-tech coordination and mobilization cut across social privileges, gender and other superficial political cleavages. They have showed that the youth is a generation hungry for change. 

Finally, it is interesting how several theories have been crafted and spinned to discredit the current politital awareness of a young generation. Old and tired phrases that were used by colonialists against our grandparents who fought for our independence like “terrorists”, unappreciative of development or too black (replace with young unformed brains) have been thrown right left and centre. Others have blamed civil societies for alleged funding of protests. This language has been used in the past. Our forefathers that we today celebrate for their bravery that secured our independence, democratic space and progressive constitution were themselves branded as terrorists. Such profiling, intimidation and hollow propaganda can only convince those that are too comfortable to fathom the pain and suffering of our young people who have a future to protect. 

We owe it to the Gen-Z for being true to our laws and constitution. They exhibited discipline despite provocation, courage and clarity of their love for their country and fellow citizens. We must say kudos to the young demonstrators for educating us about our rights and how they should be exercised with humility. It is unfortunate that two young people were killed and several others injured. Sincere condolence to the families. It should never have happened.

Is this the generation of change makers that the country has been waiting for? Views may differ, but this has been a loud announcement of the arrival of the new face of change in the country. The answer, surely, may be beckoning. 

As youngsters we stood up with Young Turks, ushering in Multiparty democracy in 1990s; in June 2024, Kenyan Youths have taken up the constitutional challenge to peacefully protest nationally over their future. May their wishes for a better future be honored.

Otieno Aluoka is Advocate of the High Court of Kenya & Kamau Ngugi is the Executive Director, Defenders Coalition (Kenya)