Abductions returning us to dark Nyayo era
The government’s deafening silence on the spate of abductions perpetrated since nationwide protests driven by Generation Z began has fuelled speculation about the state’s desperate use of violence and other unorthodox means to quell the growing uprising.
Within one week, several key individuals associated with the protests have been abducted in broad daylight by heavily armed individuals suspected to be police officers without being charged in court.
And the illegal arrests and abductions have not been enough - the state has exhibited high-handedness while dispersing the anti-Finance Bill protesters, with the latest unverified reports indicating the shooting of several young demonstrators outside Parliament yesterday.
Over the past few days, Kenya has been drawn back to the dark era of a rogue, irrational police force operating through repressive, retrogressive, clandestine, illegal and extrajudicial tactics to forcefully quell public dissent against government misdeeds.
Kenyans are protesting against lapses in governance, and more specifically, the contentious Finance Bill 2024, an issue that does not warrant reactionary use of force, but constructive dialogue and concessions.
By resorting to intimidation against perceived leaders and facilitators of the ongoing demonstrations after criminal charges filed against those arrested are rejected by the chief public prosecutor and the courts, President William Ruto’s government is only driving Kenya back to the bad old days of his mentor and role model Daniel arap Moi.
Apparently, Kenya is on the verge of burning under our watch. The use of excessive force by the police on protesters yesterday shows clearly that the country is being driven back to the Nyayo era.
Worryingly, Ruto’s actions contradict his public pronouncements. For example, last Sunday during a church service in Nyahururu, he appeared to project a reconciliatory tone, promising to listen and take into account the grievances of the protesters.
Barely hours later, the Ruto administration was flexing its dictatorial acumen, using the police to arbitrarily arrest, abduct and shoot at protesters.
Every Kenyan life matters. The government must find, before it is too late, better ways to respond to the dissent that seems to be spreading across the country.
