Why Kenya's Gen Z protests take us back to Europe in early 16th Century

Kenya feels like Europe in the early 1500s when three forces conspired to change the continent; renaissance, reformation and Industrial Revolution.

The exact dates for these events are less important compared with the changes they brought, some which reverberate to this day.

The renaissance came first, it changed our world view. It came after the Middle Ages or dark ages, when culturally and scientifically, things just froze. Renaissance brought new scientific discoveries and innovations together with revival of classical studies with Greek and Roman roots.

Curiously, classical studies are still the cornerstone of Western elite education. If you learnt Latin in high school, your school is really cool.

Kenya is going through a renaissance espoused by innovations in IT. It may not be homegrown but youngsters know how to leverage on it, either making money or sharing influence. It’s the revival of classics, in our case traditional wisdom espoused by proverbs, that is missing.

Without that, we have a philosophical vacuum that is being filled by religions, cults, materialism and meaninglessness.  We could add alcoholism.

To go through a true renaissance, we need an overhaul of our curriculum from kindergarten to university. We must study what really matters to our lives, from cradle to grave. Education must enrich and inspire our lives. We focus too much on years spent, not what we learn in school and after.

I will never tire of asking why our school children learn about Zinjanthropus yet they know so little about themselves and their neighbours.

Second semblance to Europe in the 1500s to Kenya today is reformation. The stranglehold of the Catholic Church over our faith ended. Remember Martin Luther? Not surprisingly, reformation came after renaissance. Is reformation closer to Kenya than renaissance? To be fair, there were schisms in other religions too.

Anger towards religion never came out openly during Gen z protests, it was subterranean. The cozy relationship between the church and the state is not contestable. Before getting angry, the king of England is also the head of the Anglican Church. Some countries such as Iran are theocracies with state and religion intertwined. What does our constitution say?

Long term promises

Close observation shows the ‘hustler movement’ and religion have an uncanny resemblance. Both have long term promises. For the church, we only confirm the promise after our exit from the planet, with no feedback. For the hustler movement, the promises have to be fulfilled here, on this planet. That is one issue Gen Z is raising. 

The similarity is not just about long term promises. Your homework: What are the similarities between tithes and taxes? Noted some forms of payments in some churches that mimic indulgences? Prosperity gospel? Church investing in earthly properties? 

Just like Europe in the 1500s, the churches are the most noticeable buildings today particularly in the countryside, just like the spires in Europe. Why has the church influence risen when it was supposed to be declining? It has no competitors.

Our traditions have declined and socio-economic circumstances are ripe for that; from poverty to hopelessness as the economy has not grown fast enough. The church is filling the ‘hollowness’ in us. If there was a renaissance, the church would be a bit muted. I have noted new mosques in the rural areas too.

Europe also went through an Industrial Revolution espoused by the use of technology. Kenya is going through such a revolution without smokestacks. It’s based on availability of information, through the internet and social networking that mimic conversations. Its newest mutant is artificial intelligence.

Renaissance, reformation and industrial revolution uplifted living standards. We often forget it’s not just material but intellectual and cultural standards. They moved us up Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. The citizens that came after these events enjoyed more fulfilling and meaningful lives and looked forward to even better lives for their progeny. Does that apply to Kenya?

The three forces had unintended consequences. The church lost power, influence and some property. State took over that power and in some cases misused it to suppress the masses. Remember communism? Fascism? Democracy was to moderate the state to avoid misuse of power. We all can recall the single party era.

Renaissance has enjoyed good ratings throughout. We can only ask why slavery came after renaissance. It seems human beings always carry a blot of hypocrisy.

Industrial revolution gave power to new leaders, the capitalists, away from kings and land owners. Is the Information Age taking power from our leaders too? Will the next generation of leaders and CEOs be computer scientists, not finance or accounting experts?

The Gen Z protests had a mixture of reformation, renaissance and industrial revolution. This could be why it was perplexing to our leaders. These events changed the world and countries. Our country can’t be an exception.

What next?

Gen Z protests should be filtered by these events. Despite tear gas and deaths, their message gives our no longer young nation a chance to shift citizens up Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs with well-intentioned reforms in our governance, politics and even fiscal and monetary policies. 

It has another nobler implication; definition of what it means to be Kenyan. We should not waste a good crisis, to quote Winston Churchill. Kenya should now get into its socio-political summer with faster economic growth, happier and a more fulfilled citizens.