Is Jubilee’s marriage to Kenyan youth ending?

By John Nandwa

Kenya: The story of the New Year so far is arguably one which the government could have done without. This of course refers to the recent controversial appointments of individuals to various top public offices.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the appointments is not that the President appointed politicians, most of them election losers. No, what surprised most was that some of the appointees were retired civil servants to chair public institutions.

There are echoes here with past governments. Indeed, these appointments have more than a passing resemblance to the way former President Moi and Kibaki recycled civil servants to head top public positions.

The only problem however, is that none of those two past administrations held up their affinity for the younger generation as proudly as the Jubilee government has.

Indeed, during the reigns of Moi and Kibaki, the appearance of the youth in government barely registered.

The appointment of former Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura to head the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority for instance is a clear statement that in this administration as did others before it, the master is being favoured over the apprentice.

So what explains these changes? One would suspect that it is the lure of regional balancing coupled with the need to reward party loyalties that has once again provided a blue (and-red-and-yellow) print for the new government to aspire and follow.

Is this the right path to follow? Such debates are recycled and regurgitated, particularly when it comes to the point when the politics of the day makes the President to undertake such controversial appointments.

There will doubtless be more weary introspection on the activities of the Jubilee government and its relationship with the youth in the New Year.

Ultimately it boils down to this; the unspoken social contract that Jubilee government has signed with its followers from the younger generation.

From the reactions on social media, it is clear that most aggrieved by the appointment of the old guards are the youth who believed in the Jubilee government’s promise when they voted overwhelmingly for the party in last years’ General Election.

Could it be that the Jubilee government’s marriage to the younger generation, which has endured for at least one year, is heading towards a decree nisi?