Following their largely peaceable and trendsetting remonstrations headlined by novelty, the Kenyan Gen Z has captured the fancy and spirit of not only their fellow countrywomen and men but indeed the African continent and the world at large.
The Gen Z have opened doors and realised dreams that were hitherto unfathomable. Not only has the President William Ruto climbed down from his high horse of intransigence and withdrawn the contentious Finance Bill 2024, he has also promised a raft of, hopefully, far reaching changes that are set to redefine the governance ecosystem.
But, that is not all. Behold, our MPs, yes the MPigs, reserved a hallowed seat in the annals of independent Kenya’s history when they, broke from protocol, and rejected a salary increase midwifed by the obstinate Salaries and Remuneration Commission. That was a first. While appreciating and taken in by all these, the question on the lips and in the minds of many a Kenyan is what next?
The Gen Z revolution aka “Ruto Must Go” is yet, if at all, to remove Ruto and his enablers from power. Having clocked-in weeks of messy, drawn-out protests and demands which saw even more lives lost and millions of property, looted, razed or just mindlessly destroyed, the country is still in the executive hand of President Ruto and his military and security forces. The price Kenyans have paid and continue to pay is so high, in blood and economic stability that as we ponder the workings of the protests, one cannot help but wonder: Has it been worth it?
Now, Kenyans have so much hanging on the thread of these protests that to even entertain the thought that these could all be in vain begins to sound heretical. What, with millions of Kenyans out there struggling to secure basic necessities to survive.
I can almost conjure up the face of the university student at their wits end concerning the new funding model that has literally flung them from the frying pan into the raging embers or the intern doctor whose promise for permanent and pensionable employment status hangs in the balance.
There is the civil servant who has stagnated in the same pay grade for years watching helplessly as a rookie recently hired as an adviser to her boss takes home tenfold her salary. And then, there is the high cost of living that has broken the average Kenyan’s back. And then, there is mama mboga and boda boda – the show stoppers of Kenya Kwanza’s razzmatazz electioneering.
But are our expectations of the revolution in synch with the realities on the ground and informed by past experiences? Let me paraphrase: Does any revolution yield an immediately satisfying result in which the previous regime is vanquished and economy, stability and freedom are restored overnight? Are there any revolutions that have justified the lives lost on the way?
The famous joke that it is still "too soon to tell" what the impact of the French Revolution is, does feel like a cynical observation, but it is, in fact, true. Truth be told, governance revolutions occur because those governed define the prevailing situation as an unacceptable injustice that needs to be righted. They are spontaneous, righteous explosions of demand for political betterment, not prudently choreographed cost-benefit analyses.
Revolutions thrive on the symbolic and the strategic. They do need symbolic humiliations. That's why all the emphasis is on “Ruto Must Go” and “greeting” errant MPs is crucial. But symbolic action won't work unless you have a very strong strategic sense of vision. That is why this tenacity, persistence and energy must be harnessed and redirected against the institutions of power.
These protests will go down in the annals of history as the game changer in our body politic and governance ecosystem. It is not about whether this Ruto will go or not. A Ruto will never again saddle it over the sons and daughters of this great nation. Never again shall we allow the bad manners and notoriety that some louts have climbed on to load it over the people. These protests mark a departure from the past and sets in train a new ethos, zeal and pride for those who aspire to positions of duty bearers.
At the end of the day, Kenyans – be they Gen Z, Millennials or Gen X - went out day after day, limbs were lost day after day and lives were lost day after day, because the belief that we, the people, have a right to a better politics is an instinct that once triggered cannot be quietened. Not by bullets and certainly not by rationally crafted multisectoral fora. The moment that instinct is actualised, a revolution is a success.
The writer teaches globalisation and international development at Pwani University
