What Gen Zs can learn from Bhutan marathoner

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]

A 26-year-old marathoner from Bhutan crossed the finish line in 80th position in 3 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds, during the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The winner took 2 hours, 22 min 55 seconds. Lhamo Kinzang went to Paris to finish the marathon, not to drop out. The spectators on realising her determination, pushed her all the way to the finish line after she declined request from security officers to climb a van.

At 40km, she walked the bike man who volunteered to motivate her. He kept encouraging her, and the crowd did everything from showing her country flag, giving her water, walking and running with her. She received a standing ovation at the finish line.

The lesson from this Gen Z from Bhutan is simple, stay focused on your race. It will not be smooth, it will not be easy, neither will it be finished in a flash, there will be things and people to discourage you along the way.

Real change is a product of resilience, sacrifice, and focus. It’s not anchored on spur-of-the-moment emotions. Rather, it is based on strategic, logical calculations and tactical actions.

Kenyan Gen Zs have already achieved much in tactical milestones. The unprecedented invasion of Parliament was a stellar act of courage. When the regime dropped the obnoxious Finance Bill, local and international audiences joined the race.

The cheer was equivalent to waving Kenyan flags as in cheer of the Kenyan Gen Z in the international revolutionary arena. The world took a break to take note of the historical event happening in Kenya at that particular juncture.

Dissolution of the Cabinet signified some sort of tactical surrender by the regime. It was meant to deceive the masses that the regime was finally listening and ready to change its thieving and manipulative political behaviour.

This means Gen Zs should keep eternal vigilance and remain firmly on the track until the finish line. Already, the world is watching, and the Kenyan Gen Z is setting the pace. Nigeria has woken from political slumber. The masses, encouraged by the Kenyan Gen Z, are taking charge and demanding accountability and good governance. The uprising is unstoppable.

In Uganda, the decades-long tyranny is threatened more than ever before. Bobby Wine’s lonely voice has got critical backup. The Kenyan GenZ should keep the fire burning because this is the epicentre of modern global revolutionary action.

In Bangladesh, inspired by Kenyans, they already took the bull by the horns. Those mistaking the temporary lull for surrender and, therefore, an opportunity to go back to old ways of doing things, are in for a rude shock.

The momentum is gathering even among the silent majority who do not have connections, those struggling with punitive hospital charges, those who cannot afford school fees, those who cannot afford three meals a day, those to whom decent life is a distant mirage. It is a race for the people.

A mass movement towards the political transformation of our beautiful country. A more refined design will be born out of earlier experience. Soon, it will be a broad national theme. A mosaic of national colours, ethnicities, and ages, in a united communion matching to the finish line of total liberation.

In pursuit of the noble goals of good governance, integrity, transparency and accountability, socio-economic justice, and the rule of law, the GenZ have a historical manual on do’s and don’ts. The young Turks of the early 90s were similarly valiant warriors who fought in a perilous terrain.

The prize is in the holistic implementation of the 2010 Constitution. The moral compass was epitomised by Chapter Six and Article 10, the timeless Bill of Rights, Article 232, and the document in its entirety. No shortcuts, no cherry-picking, no gerrymandering. Full implementation of the 2010 Constitution. That’s all the Gen Zs want. Period.

The writer is Meru County-nominated MCA