The political elite are now scared by the burning flames of change

Robert Greene tells of a people warned about an impeding drought and advised to build reservoirs to store water but only one person headed the advice.

Waterfalls, rivers, streams and other sources of water dried up, except for the one with a hidden reservoir. Suddenly, water started flowing again everywhere relieving everyone but alas!, after drinking the new water, they began acting and behaving strangely, lost all memory of their previous lives including the warnings about the water except the one who continued to drink from his clean water reservoir.

Acting differently from everyone since he remembered everything including the warnings about the water, he appeared to all totally mad and some were even sorry for him. Soon enough he could not bear his loneliness and he too drank the new water and suddenly forgot everything including his clean water reservoir and became like everyone who thought he had been miraculously cured of his madness!

Following the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution and our subsequent faith in its power and capacity to guarantee constitutionalism, respect for human rights, democracy, good governance, equality, equity and the rule of law, we drank from it and forgot the struggles of the 1980s and 1990s until Generation Z, at a huge price and sacrifice, woke us from our collective amnesia.

This is why we are all drinking from the Gen Z well of boldness, fearlessness, righteousness, activism and outrage as the logs in our eyes since 2010 began to fall off allowing us clarity of vision.

Most parents of Gen Z fought for the repeal of article 2A of the old constitution, restoration of multi-partism, presidential term-limits to 2 of 5 years, reconstitution of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) in (1992 and 1997) and the Constitution, 2010 therefore they grew up hearing struggle/liberation stories from their parents.

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We had watched in paralysis as the Constitution was violated, abused, and ignored for more than 10 years, leaving the Law Society of Kenya and others like Okiya Omtata to pursue our public interests cases in court until our children one day left us at home and went to protest/demonstrate in a style and manner that has forever transformed Kenya.

In early 1990s, in our early twenties, we did the same except we were fewer and had to physically congregate or send messengers to organise and strategise, there were no mobile phones or the internet/social media as we know them today but we did and succeeded.

Those were days when detention, sedition and public order laws were used to justify detention, human rights violation, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment.

The police were vicious supported by some Judicial officials all at the mercy of the president and MPs competing on who was the ‘baddest’ and most sycophantic. It is gratifying though, thanks to Gen Zs, to see the political elite genuinely “scared” of them and gradually listening to them, although, some of these could be strategies for political survival. I believe Gen Z when they say they will not compromise, they are leaderless, tribeless, fearless and determined.

We all must support them to reclaim Kenya, restore dignity, integrity, meritocracy, rule of law, respect for the Constitution, human rights, non-discrimination, equity, equality as they say drain the swamp of corruption, misuse and theft of public resources, tribalism and nepotism.

Gen Z proudly/boldly symbolises all these and more. The dissolution of Cabinet must be followed by their other demands; the release of all abductees/disappeareds, unconditional dismissal of all pending cases against protesters, national honours for all Gen Z protests martyrs and national health care for the injured, sacking of all heads of State Corporations, implementation of the Constitution, repeal of Housing Levy and other resignations, including that of the Police Inspector-General that happened finally on Friday.

The promised reconstitution of the IEBC is still blocked by non-gazettement of the IEBC Amendment Bill which law by operation of the Constitution, Article 115(6) before the ceremonial presidential assent on Wednesday 10th July.

Unfortunately, without gazettement, the IEBC constitution cannot be done although 14 days under article 115(6) will expire on July 19.