After Weeks of Protests, Corruption Prevails in Kenya
By Kathurima Mwongera
How Opportunists Derailed the Agenda for Kenya’s Gen Z Protestors
On June 25th, Kenyans lost a chance to make things right. It was the day the young Kenyan protesters invaded the parliament buildings. Since independence, the dragon of corruption has been growing bigger, more fearful, and destructive. The nation’s newer generation had grown tired of the systemic inefficiency that has denied them a chance for self-development. They got a perfect trigger to show their anger when, backed by the IMF, the country’s executive pushed proposed tax hikes through the government’s finance bill 2024. The proposed taxes such as a 16% VAT on bread and another 25% on cooking oil would have made life costlier for the average Kenyan.
The population was angered at how the ruling class was continuing to oppress the average person while they walked with millions in briefcases to public fundraisers. For example, one of the MPs, Oscar Sudi, donated Ksh 15 million (over USD 116,000 in the current exchange rate) in church harambees (Swahili for fundraising events) within a single month. That is several times what an MP earns in a month. It is akin to donating one’s year’s salary in one month.
Thanks to the events of June 25th, this habit of public display of opulence has subsided. A seemingly angry president addressed the nation on the evening of June 25th. In his short speech, the president acknowledged the significance of the events. He said, “Today’s events mark a critical turning point on how we respond to grave threats to our national security.” In the same speech, the head of the nation also acknowledged the young people’s discourse of seeking to be heard by the government. On that, he said,
To the young people of Kenya who I must thank for helping our country organize our democratic discourse around issues. I thank you and assure you that the conversation you have begun around pertinent issues of our nation will continue to inform our policy and governance decisions.
He also added that the conversation won’t be in vain. But by the look of things, it might have been in vain.
The Power of Uncertainty
Although the general mood in the country was that of fear and uncertainty, it was also hopeful. I remember receiving calls from both locals and foreigners with mixed feelings. On one hand, foreigners wanted to leave the country because they feared that there would be more chaos. On the other side, Kenyans were excited that the Gen Z protesters had achieved what even Kenya’s key opposition figure, Raila Odinga, had not achieved through his many calls for mass protests over the decades.
It was a tense mood across the country that night of June 25th. That was also evident even in the head of the state in his seven-minute speech. Many could not believe what had just happened and whether more would follow. On Wednesday, June 26th, I was in a meeting where an investor in Nanyuki town was called in. He explained how frantically they were liaising with the police on how best to protect their property within the town. This was because the youth were still mobilizing on social media to get back on the streets the following day which was on a Thursday. By this time, the protests had evolved into a biweekly event (every Tuesday and Thursday). There were fears of more anarchy. Luckily for the investors in my town, only a handful of protesters showed up on the streets that Thursday. That was the beginning of Gen Z losing their momentum and consequently their agenda.
The uncertainty was over, and it was clear to the government and the security agencies that the young people could not maintain their push for change and did not have a concrete agenda. Soon, social media was full of lists with different demands ranging from the president’s resignation to a total shutdown of the country. The agenda was no longer solid and that is how the focus was lost. Many social media influencers and activists started sharing and pushing their list of demands. The seriousness of the protests was diminished and even protesters didn’t know which cause to show up for. Consequently, the number of protesters showing up on the streets whenever protests were organized has decreased significantly with only a few showing up in the latest protest dubbed #NanNaneMarch which happened on August 8th. The common uniter for Kenya’s Gen Z had been lost in the battle for every influencer, activist, and even politician to shine in their own way.
The Gains From The Protests
The finance bill was withdrawn. On June 26th, the president addressed the nation and said,
Listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this finance bill 2024, I concede. And, therefore, I will not sign the 20204 finance bill and it shall subsequently be withdrawn.
The president opened doors for broad engagement on what he referred to as “auxiliary issues raised in recent days on the need for austerity measures and strengthening our fight against corruption.” However, young people have lost this chance. Initially, the president called for the formation of a National Multi-Sectoral Forum (NMSF) where the youth would send their representatives to present their issues. This invitation by the president was in fulfillment of one of his promises from his many speeches during the protests to consult “different sectors and political formations to identify those who will assist him in accelerating Kenya’s transformation.” The protesters declined this offer. They also wanted to boycott the president’s X space where he had invited them for dialogue although eventually, the president joined one of the parallel X spaces by Gen Z.
The president promised austerity measures and was “…keen on the implementation of radical programs to deal with corruption, debt, domestic resources, jobs and wastage in Government.” With President Ruto’s recent reconstitution of the cabinet, this too appears to have been thrown out and is not achievable anymore.
On July 11th, the president dismissed his entire cabinet except for two positions that were held by one person. Only the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudvadi, who is also the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs was spared. Since then, the president has reconstituted his cabinet and it is not promising. Individuals from the old cabinet and more but usual faces from the opposition have found their way into the new “broad-based government” as President Ruto calls it.
The True Nature of Kenyans Kicks In
According to Transparency International, Kenya has been scoring within the range of 30s in the global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) over the past four years. That right there, is the true nature of Kenya. It is an inherently corrupt country and many are willing to change their stand with a little token to make them turn the other way. By following the then-trending X hashtags such as #RejectFinanceBill2024 and #RutoMustGo, one can see the accusation and counter-accusation of some people being paid to sabotage the protests. This sabotage came in different ways. Some were paid to attack protestors, others were paid to cause destruction, while others were paid to push opposing hashtags on social media hence betraying the cause.
Although it is difficult to verify each of the accusations and allegations online independently, there were public instances where individuals pushed their agenda at the expense of the public interest. For example, on July 5th President Ruto had called young Kenyans to engage with him on X Spaces where he promised to listen to them and try to find a way forward. This, however, was also faced with division. On the same day and time, two X influencers by the usernames @Osama_otero and @Kimuzi_ urged Kenyans not to give Ruto a chance but instead join their parallel X Space to have their own discussion. Later, however, Osama was to allow the President to join this parallel space and this angered many of the listeners and other young Kenyans online who felt the two influencers betrayed them. By this time, divisions within the influencers were clear and this managed to divide the protesters. There was no longer a common push such as the rejection of the finance bill.
Away from the buyouts and the push to shine by individuals, it was soon time for President Ruto to reconstitute his cabinet. Besides the president’s offer not to sign the finance bill into law and inviting the young people for a conversation, his dissolution of the cabinet on July 11th marked another milestone from the protests that came with a lot of hope. However, this was not to be. On July 19th, the president announced the first 11 names he had nominated into his new cabinet. Out of the 11 names, six were people still in the old cabinet and some retained their ministries. Public opinion soon changed from hope to despair. Many hoped for new apolitical and domain experts in the new list. The focus was now on the next batch of nominees. The remainder of the list came on July 24 with members from the opposition. Some of the names had questionable integrity which is one of the requirements for appointment into public service according to chapter six of Kenya’s constitution. Some of these opposition figures were critical of the government a few weeks earlier during the protests and it was seen as a betrayal of the call for accountability by the protesters. Also, more names from the old cabinet found their way into the new cabinet.
With President Ruto’s new cabinet fully constituted, it was again clear that meritocracy was thrown out of the window and Kenya had gone back to political cronyism. It was like nothing had changed even after the president had promised the young people that their actions would inform government policy going forward. The president had played into the real character of Kenyans. Besides corruption, Kenyans will side with their own even when in the wrong. For example, by appointing opposition members to his new cabinet, the president played into the Kenyan way of politics. The regions from where these individuals came, would certainly forget about their calls for accountability and sing a new song of “mtu wetu” which means “our person”. This way, even if this mtu wetu is corrupt and ineffective, their people will support them. In my Ameru tribe, for example, we have a saying that “kîmaî i kiamwene” which loosely translates to “the bad still belongs to the owner”. As such, even if a political appointee fails all integrity and ability tests, their people will still value them. That is how despite weeks of protests, destruction of property, and economic losses, we are back to default settings as a country.
Is All Hope Gone?
For now, yes. It does not appear like there will be any major positive changes from the old political faces in Ruto’s cabinet. His measures have been more of a ceasefire approach rather than ending the war. With the new faces in the cabinet, we can only expect more corruption, drug trafficking, tokenism, favoritism, and inefficiency. Meanwhile, the young people should use the remaining years of President Ruto’s administration to accumulate real power around themselves. Only then will they be able to push for change in the country’s governance.
It is prudent for young people to acknowledge that even if the common belief is that the power belongs to the people, it is not entirely true. There are people behind the scenes pulling the shots. These are the people who paid influencers to create diversionary tactics, goons to attack protesters, and found ways into the cabinet while Gen Z was left in the cold and largely ignored.
