Gen Z Revolt: The tragedy of a nation

As Faith Odhiambo reflects on the events of June and July last year, bouts of rage and displeasure overcome her,  and we halt in between. She takes a deep breath, rubs her thumbs, with all emotions written on her face. 

If one had a heart-nometer at the time, her heartache over the police excesses was at the boiling point, short of an explosion. 

The President of the Law Society of Kenya was une heroiné during the Gen-Z protests. She spent sleepless nights as her mobile phones incessantly rang with mothers, fathers, 
brothers, friends, and colleagues raising alarms as they sought help from police cells, while others reported loved ones killed, maimed, or missing. 

Her green suit cannot hide the blue moment in the room. "That is the tragedy of our nation,” she says, then exhales to release her calm…

The events of last year have been encouraging and enlightening by young people who are willing to stand up and raise their voices with regards to concerns that touch their hearts.​

How did it all start? 

Odhiambo says that the protests were a reaction by Gen-Zs to Members of Parliament's   behaviour, how the laws are being passed,  and the nuances of callousness they continue to display regarding the youth’s interests and needs. 

She says that the boiling situation was exacerbated by police brutality as they maimed and killed others. Children, too, were victims of trigger-happy officers. 

“There were children who were shot by stray bullet. We have a case of a child who was  getting on a school bus was shot, a child who was riding her bicycle was shot and just listning to those stories, these are not just numbers but people… We have refused to be accountable to our people,” says Odhiambo. 

Her deputy, Mwaura Kabata, recalls that the protests sparked by Members of Parliament’s high-handedness in passing the controversial Finance Bill 2024 had been remarkably peaceful and well-structured until the crackdowns happened. 

He believes that the piece of legislation failed in legitimacy and expectations, and the protests demonstrated that the majority of Kenyans were tired of bad governance being 
shoved down their throats. 

“It left an indelible mark not only in the hearts of the Law Society of Kenya, also in the larger Kenyan population. It would be remiss for anyone to say they did not feel the impact and the experiences generated out of the well-organized and lawful demonstration that occurred,” Mwaura recalls. 

Odhiambo’s story in the streets and cells started with a call that dozens were held at Central Police Station, and the officers had declined to allow her colleagues to access their clients. The officers then went after the lawyers and injured a council member. Then, another call came that the police had also taken her assistant from her house. 

READ: Death toll from Gen Z riots hits 19 as grieving families plead for help burial support

“ That feeling I got when he was missing, then I sent someone to check and being told he was taken. Most shocking was I being told people came with guns and the caretaker was scared and could not do anything. You see that realization it came home…It was why I decided to let me try and go to cells. The currency I was running on was adrenaline,” she explains. 

She further narrates that she would receive calls all through. 
 
The LSK president, however, recollects that some calls were false alarms as either persons who were said to have been arrested or missing had gone for other errands and would later show up to their families. 

Mwaura on his end says the first call that thrust him into action was the distress by an injured council member. 

“A council member was assaulted by a regiment of police officers, and this was one of those  experiences you’re left to wonder when there is civil unrest, there are certain, exceptional personnel who do not come to the conflict itself… Doctors, lawyers, and journalists are given a free pass. The rule of law cannot be suspended, and these are the people who document, treat and intervene,” he argues. 

According to Odhiambo, LSK members countrywide started volunteering by either bailing those who the police had taken, while others filed cases to force the police either to produce the abductees, either alive or dead. 

At Central Police, she says that the OCS came and explained that he had orders from above to have them vacate the area. She says that all those who had been arrested had not been booked. However, the police crumbled under pressure and released them. Kabata explains that following the Central Police saga, they retreated and set up structures in all branches countrywide for a rescue. 

ALSO READ: Reforms or brutal crackdown? How Gen Z revolt puts Kenya at turning point

“We give credence to our younger colleagues who were always on call and would respond at the most unusual hours of the night. They would rush to police stations and travel to locations where we had intelligence that individuals were being detained illegally,” Mwaura says, adding that it became a coordinated effort from the LSK and its stakeholders. 

He revealed that some police officers who felt it was wrong to detain protesters would give intel on those who had been arrested. 

In addition, Odhiambo says there were instances when they had to spend the night in court trying to free those who had been charged. 

Was there a point she wanted to throw in the towel? 

“For me, that feeling that you’re alone is the worst feeling that you can have. So, I was thinking, if I was not  the LSK President, I would be alone, if someone close to me was 
picked up, I would not have been able to do anything, and you would not have that power in your voice.” 

“ But here is a scenario where the calls keep coming, you get tired but keep amplifying peoples’ voices. What upset me is people who would pretend they had been abducted,” she 
continues. 

Odhiambo says her conviction to fight for the rights of those who had been arrested, missing, maimed or even killed was her child, that one day he or she will be safe, even when alone. 

One troubling case, she says, was an instance where police officers arrested minors, mixed them with adults, kept them in cells for more than 24 hours  then brought them to court. 
Odhiambo recalls that the scene in court was horrifying as some were collapsing for lack of food. 

She says the magistrate queried why the children kept for so long, and if they had been fed  before directing that they should be given some water and something to eat before they were freed. 

“It was touching to see judicial officers who have a face of humanity, who were looking at the reality of the lives of the people,” she argues adding that worst part of was having court 
sitting into the night in order to sort the police mess.​

She claims the OCS disappeared after the court directed that kids without guardians be taken into safe houses until they re-unite with their parents or guardians. At the same time, 
Odhiambo says that despite President William Ruto’s apologies,  none of the victims have been compensated to-date. 

“For me, the only tragic thing I see is that there has been no accountability by police in regard to the killings and maiming that happened. It is painful to see parents post pictures of 
their children that they lost,” she says. Even those those who have remained, some are maimed and will remain so the rest of their lives. You cannot really apologise without 
making reparations,” states Odhiambo. 

Her another low moment, she says, was the decision to have the military leave the barracks for the streets. 

She holds strong feelings against the move but lets it slide, for now, as there is an active case before court. “ The army is still deployed and can be released at any particular time,” she argues. 

Are we there yet in terms of constitutionalism and the rule of law, I ask her. Odhiambo explains that Kenya has an Executive that has tried to test the limits of the 
Constitution’s powers and disobeys courts orders, a Parliament that has numbed itself from being a representative voice. 

According to her, they determine the course of the country without minding the voice of the majority Kenyans. 

“ You can just see how they pass bills in Parliament, and it can tell you the position of where Parliament is and feels that Executive is 100 percent controlling Parliament,” she argues.

On the other hand, Odhiambo views the judiciary as at a crossroads. She avers that the Supreme Court is under siege, while members of the public feel there is incompetence and 
corruption in the judiciary. 

“Yet this is the last bastion,” continues Odhiambo. 

ALSO READ: Deaths, destruction: Fifteen dead, survivors nurse injuries after June 25 protests

Her deputy says that a major win for the country is the judgment by Justice Bahati Mwamuye requiring the police to be in uniform while quelling protests and not to use vehicles without number plates or hooded. 

Odhiambo and Kabata conclude that if the country continues this way, she is headed to the wrong direction. 

Kabata on one hand says he feels there will be another round of resistance. “We do not  underestimate the powers of the youth and clamour for good leaderhip,” he argues adding that we are in an information age where young people can tell off anyone infringing their rights. 

According to him, those in power ought to brace themselves for candid answers on virtually anything, such as why we are a praying country, but without answers to pressing issues such as excessive taxes and plunder.  

He adds: “ Our psyche cannot be a psyche that is run on the pedestal of religion, it has never  helped any growing economy. We have come from far where the prime time news on one leading TV station would start with the image of the president and as it closes, it ends with his image. It is not disrespect or disobedience, it is putting the government to task.” 
On her end, Odhiambo says that the next frontier in the struggle for democracy will be about silencing accountability. 

Barely days after our interview, Albert Odhiambo was killed by the police over an alleged defamatory X post regarding the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eliud Lagat. 

“ When we start hearing in parliament that they need to deal with social media, it is a hint for me that people should worry that the next target is to gag accountability. Many people who are afraid to speak go to their social media hurdles to raise their voices, to express their dissatisfaction and bring questions of accountability that is failing in our nation. I hope out courts will be very vigilant as there is no space of trying to stifle democracy or gagging freedom of speech,” she argues. 

According to her, killing the voice cannot stop the movement for leaders to come down from their high horses. 

As a country, do we ever learn? I press her,

"As regards the 2025 Finance Bill, I don’t want us to get there. We lost brilliant young people who we should not have. I hope the government will meet its people halfway and 
must respond to the concerns. As long as the economy is not improving, you cannot tax your way to prosperity. I hope the government learnt from last year,” she concludes.