We have heard you, we are working on your demands: Gachagua to Gen Z
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is received by Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina on arrival at Mwea Pentecostal Evangelical Fellowship (PEFA) Cathedral in Kirinyaga County. He told Gen Z youth to suspend their planned anti-government protests.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Saturday urged Gen Z to suspend their planned anti-government protests and allow the government to address their demands.
He stressed that the government was taking the demands of the Gen Zs with the seriousness they deserved and appealed to the youth to remain calm.
"Our sons and daughters, we have heard you, you have spoken clearly and we ask you to allow the government to implement what you have asked for," he said at Mwea Pentecostal Evangelical Fellowship (PEFA) Cathedral in Kirinyaga during the installation and consecration of Bishop Samuel Karimi.
"Criminals should not be given a chance to hijack protests…to destroy property and cause mayhem in the country."
Generation Z has taken to the streets demanding good governance, transparency and accountability. They also accused cabinet secretaries of incompetence and demanded that they be sacked and replaced with competent ones.
The protests have left several people dead and property worth billions of shillings destroyed and looted.
The Gen Zs have planned to resume their demonstrations on Tuesday next week, saying they have no confidence in the Kenya Kwanza government.
Meanwhile, the DP hit out at some Mt Kenya leaders, accusing them of betraying their people.
"We have traitors in our region; they have no interests of their people at heart. They only think about their stomachs and they should be rejected," he said.
He threatened to name and shame the "traitors" at the appropriate time.
"Anyone who is against our unity in Mount Kenya is a traitor. If we don't unite, we will be scattered like monkey faeces," he reiterated.
He was accompanied by Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina, Kiambu Senator Karungo Wathang'wa and Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia.
Local MPs Gichimu Githinji (Gichugu), Mary Maingi (Mwea), George Kariuki (Ndia) and Gachoki Gitari (Kirinyaga Central) were conspicuously absent.
Maina said she had informed the MPs about the event but they did not turn up.
She said it was a shame for the leaders to skip the event, adding that only Senator Kamau Murango had sent his apology.
The DP told the MPs to respect the views of the people who elected them if they want to survive politically.
"Leaders should not stay in Nairobi, they should be in their constituencies to listen to what the people want. They should be close to the people because they are their bosses," he said.
The DP defended the government's development record and rebuffed critics.
"Amidst challenges, the government has achieved a lot. We have employed 56,000 more teachers and now all schools, including the junior secondary school learning institutions, have adequate teaching staff," he said.
In addition, Gachagua said the government had written off Sh6.9billion coffee debt to promote coffee farming. It was also in the process of reviving and completing stalled road projects across the country, he said.
"We have had economic challenges but we are working hard to improve the lives of Kenyans," he said.
Gachagua admitted that snails and rats are wreaking havoc in the vast Mwea irrigation scheme, which he said accounts for 80 per cent of the rice consumed in the country.
He assured farmers that the government would find a permanent solution to the problem.
"The snails and rats are a menace to farmers and will soon be controlled for the sake of food security," he said.
Gachagua noted that the roads throughout the Scheme are in a deplorable state and promised to have them upgraded to all-weather status.
He said farmers face challenges in transporting their produce to markets and they need to be supported.
The DP urged the county commissioners to intensify the war against illicit brewing to save the lives of the young generation.
He warned that the administrators will be held responsible if their areas are found to be harbouring poisonous brews that are wasting away the youth.
"Even the MPs should not be a stumbling block in the war against the brews, they should not tell the county commissioners that they are acting on orders from above to allow the sale of the brews. The days of orders from above are over," he said.
Gachagua said the war against the poisonous brew trade was on and vowed that there would be no retreat.
"Brews have killed many people, even two of my relatives died after consuming poisonous brews. The illegal trade must be fought at all costs," he said.
Maina said Gachagua was the kingpin of Mt Kenya and deserved respect.
"We will stand by Gachagua who is our most senior leader in this region. He is fighting for the interest of our people and we must defend him from critics who are waging war against him," she said.
And Wathang'wa and Kaguchia urged Gachagua to stand firm and continue to unite the Mt Kenya region without fear.
"We are behind Gachagua. He is our spokesperson and we will defend him if he is wrongly accused," said Kaguchia.
