The political class has panicked about ongoing protests

President William Ruto (centre), his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and Opposition Leader Raila Odinga (left) speak after the signing of the IEBC Bill. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

On Tuesday the political class showed their growing fear that the ongoing protests will not end until real reforms are implemented.

The latest gimmick from President William Ruto’s administration is yet another talking shop to address protesters concerns.

Forget that Ruto, his team, and the entire political class know full well what the public want: Improved service delivery, rationalisation of expenditures to reduce waste, drastic reduction in corruption, and a rededication to the 2010 Constitution.

Some have feared that the banding together of the political class will finally break the back of the protests and herd everyone back to their ethnic pens. I beg to differ. It is, indeed, a good thing that the entire political class lacks ownership of the ongoing reformist movement.

For a long time, they have misused protests as negotiating tactics for their parochial interests. Not anymore. All of them must understand that they are collectively on notice for putting us all on ruinous path to endemic poverty and mis-governance. 

It is now abundantly clear that the Ruto administration will only countenance real reforms if they are forced to understand that the alternative is untenable. He has stuck with his Cabinet, perhaps fearing the potential political backlash that would follow from dumping the incompetents he won with in 2022.

His careless handling of alleged reform efforts – including appointing people to task forces without even consulting them – betrays an administration that remains completely unable to read the public mood.

The rather pathetic panicked displays of support and pledges of allegiance from feckless politicians are signs of a leader still prioritising his ego over the good of the nation.

Lastly, the attempt at displaying unity across the political spectrum only reinforced the idea that all of them are the root causes of our problems.

President Ruto must understand that now is not the time to try old tricks. Ever more Kenyans must work to live. Agriculture is no longer an option for them. There are no relatives to support them.

They cannot all be self-employed, shipped abroad in the president’s labour export schemes, or hired in the many poorly-designed government workfare programmes. They simply need a fairer working economy and could not care less which ethnic bloc has what share of the national government.

No amount of ethnic dog whistles will turn back the clock. Kenyans of all ages – not just the Gen Zs – have decided that we deserve a better and fairer country and will work towards it with or without the current political class.

-The writer is a professor at Georgetown University