Option for reforms that go beyond cosmetic changes

Last week, I opined that this anguka nayo craze has to give way to some constructive pathway for all of us. It is quite clear that Gen Zs have thrown Kenya into this discomforting space that calls for leadership that goes beyond cosmetic patchwork to address challenges that have been endemic over the years.

In fact, looking back at the campaign period, we can safely say that most people who voted for this regime thought it was going to set us off on a journey that would address the problems Kenyans at the bottom of the pyramid have struggled with since independence. With a blooming youth population characterised by largely unemployed and underemployed educated Kenyans, the death knell for this regime kept sounding with every lofty promises they made during the campaign.

The regime further set itself up for implosion when they wowed all and sundry with promises that it was only a matter of time before the cost of living went down. Well, the cost of goods or even living rarely goes down. It is the capacity of citizens to make more that makes the cost of living affordable, even with rising prices of commodities and inflation.

But the regime kept promising better days ahead even when the fundamentals were conspicuously missing. It is clear that there is a big problem with the ship even as the captain attempts to sail it to the shore.

 Azimio is in this dilemma of doing the right thing, which is to save the country by offering leadership or save this regime by joining it in a government of national unity. Gen Zs have all but cornered everyone, and even though the very civil revolt has taken a bleak outlook with infighting and infiltration by dark forces, it still provides the anchor for a radical shift, as it appears Kenyans have refused to accept cosmetic changes.

You see, it is fairly easy for the political class to close ranks, cobble up a Cabinet and do everything to try to halt the Gen Z revolution through brute force, the tribal card, bribery, intimidation and anything the politicians can fathom. But that would be a big risk because there are only two options in this kind of a scenario.

First and the most unlikely is a coming together of the political class to address the wish of all Kenyans, help this regime sail to the shore and wait for the citizens to reward those who distinguish themselves with the vote come 2027.

Unlikely given our self-preservation tradition, which is likely to see a competitive plunder of State resources like what we have seen in the past. That then gives us the second option, which is where Opposition leaders join the regime and because of the troubles of this regime they all fail and ultimately sink with this regime.

That then begs the question, which way saves the nation? Aristotle, in his virtue ethics, talks of the golden mean, which he argues is that moral high ground in the middle of two extremes.

 Today, extreme one is joining this sinking regime and sinking with it regardless of who you are and what political capital you have. This is one route the Azimio bigwigs should know so well given the wrath of what is emerging as the most consequential voting block going into 2027 – Gen Zs.

The second extreme is allowing the leaderless, tribeless Gen Zs to continue taking us to this “bright space” they also can’t see and can’t define. What then is the middle ground that is great for the nation?

The answer is a national convention that is apolitical in the sense of political party or tribal affiliation and a true reflection of the voices of all Kenyans.

Such a convention would map out with clarity what must be done by the political class, with clear timelines and low hanging fruits like tackling corruption, accountability and governance issues can be thrust out, while fundamental changes like the official Opposition leader, electoral injustices, equitable share of national resources and limiting the  power of the political class can be subjects of a referendum.

— The writer is a PhD student in Political Communication