Humanist

Let me explain using the case of Kenya. You see in our region, when Kenya sneezes, so to speak, the rest of the countries in our region catch a cold. Particularly so for the landlocked countries, such as its neighbor Uganda.

Contextualize, for example, the 2007-2008 Kenya elections crisis. Within a few days of the crisis, Uganda was in crisis too. We were without essential commodities, including fuel. The major means of transport for significant goods Uganda imports is by road from Mombasa port to Uganda. And because of the crisis roads were blocked.

And so, when the the Kenya Finance Bill Protests happened in 2024, we, in Uganda, were immediately jolted into worrisome frenzy. We wanted to keep up-dated and were concerned that our region may experience again full on violence.

In that frenzy and state of worry, I found myself in rabbit holes of fake news and misinformation that consumed my time and caused me even the more stress, while at the same time nurtured my ignorance. In hindsight, I should have known better.

My mission in 2025 is to consciously and intentionally be more selective of information sources, especially so on online media. Indeed, now that I have had conversations with authoritative sources, I realize how much valid and valuable information I missed at the time regarding the bill protests.

How, for example, I should have received the bill protests with hope. After all, they were the very expression of civic activism and democracy. Young people, Generation Z, Gen Z, our future leaders took our current leaders to task and successfully demanded accountability.

The future leaders outsmarted the current leaders by harnessing new digital technology to coordinate and mount physical street protests, an amorphous ‘leaderless force’, a phenomenon our current leaders aren’t familiar with.

Reading the information I got from the rabbit holes, you would think that there isn’t and organic ecosystem in Kenya in which the young function in a role that is similar with how their counterparts are functioning within their communities in other parts of the world, which is not the case.

Apparently, the Kenya youth had maximum support from their parents and from the older generation. Their protest was for the greater good for all. The general population is angry about the social economic conditions in Kenya; and with bleak prospects which the Finance Bill 2024 was going to make worse.

On behalf of their communities, the Kenya Gen Z, I have learnt, protested against the outrageous attitude of the country’s leader who was seemingly ignoring the people’s objection to the Finance Bill 2024. There was clear communication from the public participation exercise that the bill had no public support, but apparently the leader was pushing for it to be passed.

And so, the protests were not necessarily an inter-generational thing. There was, in fact, a convergence of Kenyans of all generations in their opposition of the Finance Bill 2024. It was not the case that Gen Z was against it and the older generations were it support of it as the popular narrative made it appear.

How refreshing it is to learn this reality.