Siaya County Governor James Orengo has urged vigilance on the part of citizens, noting that the government is rapidly constricting the democratic space.

Speaking during the ongoing devolution conference on Thursday, August 14, 2025, Orengo indicated that human rights have been limited in the last 10 years, and that while the country is in the right direction, citizens must not let their guard down.

“If we examine what has happened to the rights of people in this country in the last 10 years or so, we can generally say that we are not there yet,” Orengo stated.

Invading rights

“We are constantly experiencing a situation where the state is infringing on these rights, and without the vigilance of the people, it is so easy in the Kenyan situation, to make one step ahead and two steps back,” he urged.

Orengo equally noted that the building of the nation not only involves the physical development of buildings and infrastructure but also the actualization of fundamental rights and freedoms of the people.

“It is important that all of us realise the centrality of human rights that pervades our lives, and is found at the very beginning clauses of the constitution,” Orengo observed.

Brick and mortar

“We can build monuments and roads, but without respecting human rights, we cannot build the kind of society spelled out in Article 3 of the constitution,” he noted.

“Building a nation is not a brick-and-mortar exercise but includes what is spelled out in our preamble and Article 10 of the Constitution about principles and values of good governance.”

The remarks come amid calls for reforms in various public institutions, including the police service and public service.

Various protests have been witnessed in the country over police brutality, abductions, and extra-judicial killings.

The wave of protests has occasioned calls for inter-generational talks fronted by ODM party leader Raila Odinga.

Raila believes the talks will ensure that the tensions in the country are addressed. Some of the issues facing the youth in the country are unemployment, corruption, confusion in the education funding model, and misgovernance, among other issues.