Why government should not take ongoing demonstrations for granted

Anti-Finance Bill Gen Z demonstrators scamper for safety near Chieni Supermarket on June 25, 2024. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

In 2011, a hitherto little-known street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire after the government confiscated his wares. This act of self-immolation and abnegation would presage the resignation of the Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and set on course the Arab spring, eternally altering the trajectory of Arab political history.

The ongoing Gen-Z-initiated demonstrations should be a wake-up call to the Ruto government and the current band of status-quo politicians. What we are witnessing is the pent-up anger of a generation high on ideals that built great societies. How did we reach here?