ON ENDLESS PROTESTS WITHOUT ACTION PLANS. 

Every generation has a solemn duty to change the world. This change manifests in various forms across our society. The Greatest Generation fought the second world war; extirpated the scourge of Nazism and her apocalyptic twin, Fascism, that had ravaged the world and wrought unimaginable suffering on it. The aftershocks reverberated across the globe carrying with them the winds of decolonization. The Silent Generation and early Baby Boomers, in America, championed the Civil Rights Movement culminating in the abolition of legalized racial segregation. Simultaneously, feminist movements democratized the socio-economic and political rights of women. All these were decades-long efforts that eventually bore fruit, owing to their proponents’ strong conviction: Man can rise above rudimentary, archaic and arbitrary justifications of impunity. Last year, various youth-led protests rocked global news headlines. Bangladeshi students tired of an employment quota system that sought to perpetuate favoritism of the scions of the political establishment, took to the streets. Sustaining weeks-long protests that eventually led to the resignation of then-PM Sheikh Hasina. Thousands of kilometers to the South West, the Sri Lankan populace fed up with decades of economic mismanagement set the presidential palace ablaze leading to the resignation of President Rajapaksa. The Kenyan youth were not left behind either, revolting against a punitive finance bill that sought to increase taxation amid widespread corruption and a worsening youth unemployment crisis. The results were scores murdered, hundreds disappeared and hundreds sustaining injuries. The silver lining perhaps? The abandonment of the punitive bill. Yet with all these gains much lies ahead. More hurdles remain to be surmounted. However optimistic we may be, these hurdles won’t be surmounted in a day. Change is a process not an event. Processes need action plans. Strategy. Tactic. Execution. Evaluation. Hitherto, mass protests have been the easier route for organizing and agitating for necessary change as epitomized and refined by Opposition politicians and activists since Independence. Lawyer activists have done a stellar job filing court cases, offering pro bono services, aiding each other according to ability each step of the way. The results have been impressive. Social media agoras give a platform to people from all walks of lives to contribute to the political process. Politics is not a preserve of politicians anymore. Truly, the internet as a tool for advancing democracy can’t be overstated. As we reflect on last year’s protests, taking stock of our wins and losses, we must remain moored to a plan. Unmoored boats drift and get wrecked by tumultuous waves. The clinical deployment of Constitutional tools at our disposal has to be our main focus for social-political change. There’s talk of plans to march on State House. The stated aims of this undertaking have not been clearly stated. And when they’re stated they collapse under their own weight when put under scrutiny. Power fights back; using conventional and often unconventional ways to stymy the tide of change that seeks to wash it and rid it of its stench. So far, the government like a deer caught in the headlights, has deployed goons on the streets to delegitimize peaceful protests. Dogs with bad names get hanged and old dogs seldom learn new tricks. We have long known this oldest trick in their playbook. Borrowing from Darwinism, the movement has to evolve tactically to parry this targeted delegitimization campaign. Property worth millions has been destroyed by these ruffians funded and abetted by the government. The more goons infiltrate our movement the faster they chip at our public support. The momentum dissipates with each weekly iteration. It’s not enough that we have a movement; the vast majority of masses must be pulled into it. Identify with it. Own it. Push it. And when we enjoy the legitimate goodwill of the people, the Establishment must listen. Fellow comrades, It is with the knowledge of the foregoing and borrowing from tactics employed elsewhere that I submit that protests alone are not enough without a concise action plan. We must ask ourselves: What do we intend to do? What avenues are available? Which combination is appropriate and effective? What have past struggles taught us? Revolutionary posturing and flirting with extraconstitutional means to upset the political establishment is perilous hollow talk without clear plans. The lesser said of the social-political ramifications given our tribal realities the better. We must remain within the confines of the Constitution we bequeathed ourselves 15 years ago. We promised to abide by it. If we abandon her tenets we risk backsliding into even worse forms of anarchy and tyranny. Formation of civic and advocacy groups enjoying mass support is a step in the right direction. Through this we can advocate through dialogue, presenting our grievances and resorting to peaceful picketing and protesting when our demands go unattended. This is enshrined in Art.37.Moreover, synthesizing and publishing government policies in a citizen-centric manner goes a long way in demystifying the body politic and making it more accessible to the masses. This was especially done to perfection in respect to Finance Bill 2024. I must remind us that change is a process not an event. Eternal vigilance is the price we pay for our democracy, however fledgling and flailing it may be. As we commemorate the 1st anniversary of the June 25 storming of Parliament, we pay tribute to our patriotic brothers and sisters whose lives were cut short by a tone-deaf regime. Saying their names is not enough without advancing our fight more effectively. Their only crime was daring to believe in a better Kenya. A Kenya where the voice of the people matters and not a footnote. Let’s regroup, realign and determine how to best deploy the tools at our disposal to agitate for the change we need. But we can’t forever protest; we risk losing future leverage. Lastly, this great republic needs our concerted efforts. Efforts of envisaging and working towards a better republic. From our homes to the high rungs of power. A republic that does not victimize her young generation when it speaks truth to power. A republic that does not clobber her young generation for exercising their democratic rights. A republic that does not murder her youth in police cells for exposing the stench of corruption that punctuates its civil service. A republic that captures our aspiration as a people. Forever daring to aim at the stars, not content with mediocrity. For we are the salt of the world. And we must be prepared to pay the price. As T. Jefferson remarked,” The tree of liberty is nourished from time to time by the blood of martyrs and tyrants” May our Martyrs rest in peace and forever in our hearts remain. Long live the republic. Aluta continua.