Danger lurks in inspiration we get from the wrong examples

 

Protestors react to a tear-gas canister thrown to them by Kenyan anti-riot police during a demonstration in Nairobi on August 8, 2024. [AFP]

Kenya’s youth have been protesting demanding better governance.

The conversations have changed from calls to drop the controversial Finance Bill 2024, to enhanced public management. 

The motivations were clear; the flaunting of ill-gotten wealth by the political class, the complacency of Parliament and the opposition, and a patronage system that rewards the politically connected.

The Kenyan youth are also the most educated generation since independence.

However, inspiration from some of the worst repressive regimes threatens to cast a shade on the gains made thus far. 

Often, wingers and self-appointed leaders show up with the Communist flag and other communist relics of the twentieth century.

A campus student talked on television about how the Bolshevik and Maoist revolutions were the most consequential events of the past century, and Kenya should prepare for similar remedies led by the youth.

The clip received considerable social media attention and media houses have depicted the character as “one of the young and best brains we have.”

A fairly educated Kenyan graduate understands the Soviet, Chinese, and Cuban revolutions. There are murals of Che, Lumumba, Castro, and Mao in Nairobi’s least affluent estates.

Africa has idealised its revolutionary sons like Sankara, Gaddhafi, and Nasser. Although these characters led eventful revolutions, their regimes were among the most repressive and were characteristic of gross human rights violations. 

There are several unresolved Gaddafi-era cases of human rights violations despite the counter-revolution that followed in 2011.

The Chinese Communist Party is among the most oppressive political machinery whose operations torment Chinese citizens, including those abroad, especially those in the perceived safety of Western democracies.

The Soviet Union retains the hallmark of human rights violations despite its dissolution in 1991. 

These idealized examples by the Kenyan youth go far to expose the gaps in Kenya’s education system and the need to enhance human rights literacy at the community level.

Human rights is a compelling requirement given the government’s reaction to the protest.

Glaring gaps

For instance, the bodies recovered from Kware, and the several unclaimed bodies at City Mortuary are adequate evidence that the prevailing system needs prompt fixing. 

The human rights situation becomes intense during protests, exposing the glaring gaps in police reforms and public awareness.

There are adequate examples of gross human rights violations occurring in the previous months that do not require much research. Taking motivation from China and the Communist block is another low that the youth are yet to understand.

It does not solve anything to replace tyranny with tyranny as it has been the case in China or Cuba. Human rights are not passive as it has been the case in Kenya. 

The silent cases at the community level of unsettled displaced people from Nairobi River environs, defilement, widows suffering from patriarchy, and communities evicted from conservancies also require attention. 

The media has understood the value of the protests in optimising their viewership and followership.

It has become a tradition that a millennial or Gen-Z protestor shows up in the morning or late-night talk shows to “discuss the youth-led revolution.” However, some moderators of these events are mostly ignorant as well. 

Kenyan media lurks between being a progressive force in promoting freedom of expression and being a disaster in promoting civic education.

There is still a long journey to promoting community literacy on modern history and its implications for human rights. What can be most impactful for Kenya is positive change.

Revolutions in the Communist block and their inspirations in the southern hemisphere countries have been catastrophic and least impactful.

Cuba has one of the lowest human development indexes while Russia has not changed much from its Soviet-styled governance. 

True change can be achieved if the revolutionaries understand the essence of justice and human rights as essential components for socio-economic and environmental transformation.

The modern age where sustainable development and technology are increasingly determining the social benefits of all interactions requires communities to present their finest while improving the cognitive situation of the lowest. 

The writer is a climate governance Fellow