Seek solutions to avert mayhem and anarchy
What you need to know:
- The protesters have only been exercising their constitutional right to march and air their grievances.
- The President cannot deny the people their constitutional right to stage peaceful demonstrations.
President William Ruto’s warning that the government will take stern action against demonstrators is a clear sign of his own frustration. He has accused the anti-government protesters of trying to plunge the country into anarchy.
And he has now vowed to crush the Generation Z demonstrators that not long ago, he engaged in discussions with, seeking to end the current national crisis.
To the President, it is now time to deal firmly with what he has described as the “tyranny of anonymous, faceless, formless, sponsored people” out to wreck the country.
First and foremost, the protesters have only been exercising their constitutional right to march and air their grievances. The President cannot deny the people their constitutional right to picket and stage peaceful demonstrations.
It is, however, important that peace prevails in the country, hence the need for all, including the President and other leaders to seek to amicably solve differences.
Brutal suppression
Since the protests started two weeks ago, nearly 50 people have been killed, scores injured and property worth billions of shillings destroyed. Most of the victims were shot dead by police in a brutal suppression of the largely peaceful protests.
But after President Ruto gave in to the demands by declining to assent to the controversial Finance Bill, 2024 and sacked nearly his entire Cabinet, there was hope that a solution to this deadly national crisis could be found.
But the change of tune by the President, who initially praised the GenZ for their patriotic zeal, is a worrying development. He is quite right about the need to protect the country, lives and property but the harsh language he has used is in bad faith. It could easily fuel further mayhem and anarchy.
This country belongs to all its people, who have every right to go about their business without being harassed by anybody. All should engage in a genuine search for a solution to this national problem.
Ours is a vibrant democratic country in which the people enjoy their freedoms of expression, association and movement. As long as they do not break the laws of the land, their enjoyment of these freedoms should not be curtailed.
