Don't blame Gen Z for chaos, protect protests - Kagwe

Protesters march along Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi during demonstrations against the Finance Bill in 2024. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has defended Gen Z protestors, rejecting claims they were behind looting and arson during recent demonstrations.

Touring Nakuru County on Thursday, July 3, Kagwe argued that external actors were using protests to incite chaos and urged the public not to blame the youth.

"Don't be lied to, that it's your children... It is not our children, it is not the Gen-Z demonstrators who are doing those things," said Kagwe.

His comments counter Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who has repeatedly labelled the protests a national security threat.

After the Wednesday, June 25, demonstrations, Murkomen claimed looters at a Quickmart supermarket left identity cards linking them to Gen Z protestors, further alleging the protests were part of a coup attempt.

The Communications Authority (CA) ordered a live broadcast shutdown during the protests, a move widely viewed as an effort to silence public dissent.

Kagwe's remarks mark a shift from the government's security-focused narrative, emphasising the right to peaceful protest while urging protection of public property.

"If the factory is destroyed, who will lose their jobs?" asked Kagwe.

He urged protestors to defend democracy and avoid actions that could turn dissent into chaos.

"We must protect our democracy so that it never becomes anarchy," Kagwe noted.

As the country prepares for the Saba Saba rally on July 7, Kagwe encouraged protestors to learn from global examples of peaceful demonstrations, referencing France, where protests occur daily without property damage.

"Demonstrations are fine... but nothing gets destroyed," he explained.