In late 2019, while working in Southeast Asia, in Myanmar to be precise, I witnessed something profound. We were in the capital Yangon. My colleague had promised me a spectacle. A chance to see a rarity. A white elephant. In Kenya, “white elephant” is a pejorative term used to refer to failed megaprojects, mostly donor-funded. The Kenyan landscape is littered with the carcasses of white elephants dating back to President Daniel arap Moi’s tenure. We made it in time for the evening feeding time. I was full of excitement. Right in front of us were two white elephants incessantly swinging their heads from side to side in a robotic fashion, as if a programming code had gone rogue and they could not stop. Their legs were heavily chained. There was a crowd watching, bowing intermittently to these majestic creatures. I inched forward. My colleague reminded me to remove my shoes as this part of the temple was considered holy.
Later that evening, I asked my colleague what she thought of the white elephants. I said the discussion was between us; I had learned that free political banter was not a favourite pastime under Myanmar’s military rule. She asked me to go first. I told her that I thought the white elephants were losing their minds from being in captivity, chained in a temple for people’s entertainment. She told me I was overthinking it, that this was a sign that the rulers reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity. The opulence expected to be shown by anyone who owned a beast of such stature was great, she added.
The chained white elephants of Myanmar could be a metaphor for project Kenya. Myanmar was under strong military rule at the time. The civilian president Aung San Suu Kyi was mostly ceremonial, serving to redeem the image of Myanmar in the eyes of the Western world. President Suu Kyi would soon be overthrown and imprisoned in 2021. The thought of my friend and others in Myanmar viewing the white elephants as symbols of the benevolence of the military dictators at a time of intense political repression, with thousands of people in prison, including journalists, was shocking and hard to reconcile with accusations of ethnic cleansing of Muslim Rohingyas committed by the army.
The white elephants reminded me of Kenya and how the political class has held the country in chains to the point where she is losing her mind. And yet some Kenyans, those whose tribes are represented in power, watch Kenya dance this sad painful dance like the white elephants and hope for benevolence from leaders like President William Ruto and the political class. The inability to see the association between the struggles of common Kenyans in this terrible economy and the tribal leadership reminds me of my friend in Myanmar. Presented with all available evidence to the contrary, the typical Kenyan will still hope for a level of benevolence from the very tribal political class that lords it over us. Yet the political class, under instructions of President Ruto, has come back with more punitive taxes in the form of the Finance Bill 2024. The mass dissociative disorder that borders on self-hate among older Kenyans is something the political class has groomed in the same fashion that pimps groom young, disenfranchised girls in the underworld of major cities to work for them. Essentially, Kenyans are trapped in a cycle of work, abuse and taxation to pay for the flashy lifestyle of the tribal political class.
It is refreshing to see that Gen Z, currently in the streets agitating for political accountability, has refused to be groomed along tribal lines like the generations before it. Gen Z has peeled back the mask and exposed the ruling political class for what it is; a cackle of cowards riding the tribal wave and living in opulence while treating Kenyans like slaves. If there is one thing we should collectively thank Gen Z for, it is their refreshing reminder that we all should see Kenya for what it is now; a place that is hopeless, on life support and in need of immediate resuscitation through radical actions like the decisive rejection of the Finance Bill 2024. Relenting now would mean perishing.
Without tribe, there is no bogeyman for the political class
Imagine how enriching the political discourse in Kenya would be if political formations were outside of any tribal affiliations. Gen Z has succeeded in achieving this, something that none of the generations before them could achieve. The political class has always used tribe as the bogeyman to scare and herd Kenyans into spaces where they compete along tribal lines and act out of fear of each other while their resources and talents are plundered. By placing tribe at the centre of the political discourse, Kenyans have voted along the lines of their tribal differences rather than for the welfare of the nation. So far, the Gen Z-led revolution does not have a single leader or group of leaders. Instead, there is organic digital mobilisation based on a common agenda, and as such, the need for a leader hasn’t been necessary.
Not having a leader is important in continuing the tribeless, Gen Z-led revolution. In the political architecture of Kenya, leaders typically carry a tribal identity with them. Not having a leader is also strategic in order to avoid arrest and assassination. In addition, the absence of traditional faces like Raila Odinga from the political scene has also been a breath of fresh air for the revolution. Odinga’s name has traditionally been used to amplify the tribal rhetoric by leaders to cover for their failings and hide their corruption. Therefore, every Kenyan should be grateful to Gen Z for crafting an ideal Kenya where people can mobilise around important agendas, rather than tribe, political parties and/or affiliated leaders.
There is no shrine to shut down in the digital space
In 1977, Jomo Kenyatta’s government shut down Kamĩrĩĩthũ Educational and Cultural Centre for hosting I Will Marry When I Want, a play written by Professor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Ngũgĩ wa Mĩriĩ. Kenyatta, intolerant of political opposition, used the state machinery to send the likes of Professor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o into exile. The government thrives on physical violence and heavy militarisation of the police. It is a self-preservation thing with a lingering colonial mindset at its core. Police violence such as that witnessed against peaceful protestors is glaring proof that the government has run out of creative ideas. This is exactly why President Ruto’s first instinct was not to engage the Gen Z in peaceful dialogue through co-creation of ideas. He went ahead and deployed the military in the streets as though Kenya was facing some form of foreign invasion. But the president and his advisors underestimated the will of Gen Z and the people of Kenya. They did not realise that the revolution in the streets was just an extension of the revolution that has lived in the minds of Kenyans before incubating and hatching in the digital space and blossoming into millions of butterflies in the streets. The digital space has allowed a global audience to witness the creativity and activism of Kenyans of all walks of life in spaces like TikTok.
How beautiful is it that thousands of Kenyans can be reached at the same time with a single tweet. How powerful is it that Kenyans can dig up the identity of a killer police officer in real time, find his family members and push for accountability. Gen Z has harnessed the powerful tools of the digital space that allow people to go faceless at times, deliver important messages and demand accountability. The digital space has spread the burden of activism among thousands of young Kenyans in their homes and private spaces. The government, accustomed to violating physical spaces, is still grappling with what to do about the digital space as the revolution continues apace.
There is no reverse gear, Ruto Must Go!
Would the US ambassador to Kenya, Ms Meg Whitman, vote for Ruto if he ran for governor in the state of New York where she was born? Would Ruto get the vote in the West where he has made multiple trips so far trying to redeem his image? I doubt it. Ruto Must Go is not only a rallying call against President Ruto; it is a rallying call against the political class in Kenya and people like Amb. Whitman who are being used to sanitise President Ruto for the United States’ global agenda in Africa.
It is important to note that US influence in Africa is facing intense competition from China as well as resistance from emerging conscientious African leaders. President Ruto, on the other hand, has emerged as one willing to do the bidding of the Western world in Africa. Ruto Must Go. He must go because most Westerners would not vote for him if his résumé were presented to them.
Let me give you a summary: Ruto was President Moi’s protégé. He was an integral part of Youth for Kanu ’92 when President Moi, facing intense pressure from an opposition demanding the return to multipartyism, used tribal clashes among other means to retain power. Ruto campaigned and voted against the 2010 constitution. It is worth noting that every progressive Kenyan leader, including Raila Odinga and former president Mwai Kibaki, supported the progressive 2010 constitution. In 2011, Ruto was fired from the cabinet because of allegations of corruption. Ruto’s résumé is rich, the most notable distinction being that Ruto was charged in the International Criminal Court at The Hague for crimes against humanity following the 2007/2008 post-election violence in Kenya.
One would think that Kenyans are very insane people to vote in someone with such a résumé to be the CEO of their country and shape their children’s destiny. One would wonder why seemingly progressive countries like the United States would very quickly make great acquittance with Ruto. The answer is simple. The US is always on the lookout for African leaders who are easy to manipulate for their imperial global agenda. President Ruto, on the other hand, will do anything to sanitise his image in the eyes of the West. The people of Kenya are the pawns in this game. In this long con game, the people are the ones who foot the bill through heavy taxes and political repression.
Ruto Must Go is therefore a rallying call to reject not just the Finance Bill 2024, but the entire political class that is associated with it. It is also a rallying call for Kenyans to stay alert and interrogate the aggressive foreign interest in Kenya by countries like the US that has birthed shadowy deals culminating in the hurried deployment of Kenyan police in Haiti. Ruto Must Go is also a rallying call to save the majestic, unique elephant that is Kenya from the shackles of political patronage and exploitation by Ruto and other opportunists outside Kenya. Every Kenyan of goodwill must remain steadfast lest the shackled elephant lose its mind and we all perish with her. The new dawn is here for Kenya. Let us all join Gen Z and usher it in without any further delay.
May God Bless Kenya. May God Bless Gen Z. Ruto Must Go!