Police officers block the entrance of Melvin Jones Hall where Butere Girls' were set to perform their play 'Echoes of War'. (Inset) Playwright Cleophas Malala outside outside Kirobon Girls High School on April 9, 2025.
The recent statements by the heads of our top security organs saying children on social media are a threat to our national security made me realise that every other institution in Kenya is now politically compromised to think in a linear fashion, with total disregard for their constitutional mandate.
Many State institutions and arms of government have abandoned their legal responsibility of being non-partisan, fair, just and working to protect public interest. Instead, they are mired in party politics. They have become not defenders of the Constitution, but that of political ideology in favour of the government of the day, however detrimental that ideology is to the country, and our social and national cohesion.
Fundamental freedoms in our Bill of Rights include freedom of speech and expression. These freedoms are not limited to social media or political rallies. Freedom of speech and expression does not mean that one should only hear what one wants to hear.
Given our varied interests in life, one person’s view of the world and issues will differ a great deal from the other’s. Without having a platform for us to express ourselves, it becomes difficult to understand what makes someone tick or where their interests lie.
Kenyans taking to social media to express their views on all sorts of issues in the country, not just on political matters, is a testament that they are able to express themselves and exercise the rights accruing to them from Chapter Four on Bill of Rights of our Constitution, precisely Article 33(1a and 1b). Article 33 (1a) deals with our freedom to “seek, receive or impart information or ideas”. Article 33 (1b) gives Kenyans the “freedom of artistic creativity”. This is where satire, cartoons, drama and music come into play.
Freedom of expression
It is therefore unfair and illegal for the government to stop students from performing a play because it is deemed unpalatable by a few in society. It is equally illegal to muzzle the media for exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and speech.
If we just want to hear our praise, this world will be a very boring world. It will also be a fantasy world that makes us believe the lies we are told about ourselves by those who are unwilling to tell us the truth. Essentially, freedom of expression is one way of being given a chance to hold a mirror to ourselves and mend our ways.
The government’s attempt to erode fundamental rights is a recipe for disaster. Fighting children expressing their frustrations on how their country is being mismanaged by adults is the wrong approach. Our problems, be they threats to national security or public funds, are a creation of adults who have the legal mandate and maturity to do the right things but choose not to.
Politicians in Kenya have been at the frontline of violence since multi-party came into being in the country. Last weekend’s attack on some politicians was not instigated by children but by politically aware adults who rely on violence to gain politically. Violence within the political sphere is so rampant in Kenya that MPs don’t think twice about squaring it out with fists and kicks within the Parliament’s precinct. The latest involved female MPs fighting on the grass just outside Parliament; then they have the audacity to gaslight those that filmed the fight!
Corruption
I believe there is not a single politician in Kenya that does not have their hands in corruption. It has become so bad that other countries are blaming politicians and senior government officials for being the stumbling blocks to investment, including by seeking bribes for tenders.
Who needs whom? Is the government not meant to welcome investors with both hands at a time of high unemployment among the youth? It is no wonder the young are angry and turning to social media to express their disappointment with the government.
Let us not kid ourselves to say that we have a democracy. Majority of our politicians vie for political seats not to serve the public but to enrich themselves. Politics in Kenya is the only thriving industry because corruption has become the most attractive thing to politicians.
They leave in their wake despondent unemployed youth, early deaths for lack of public healthcare, poor education infrastructure and insecurity. Unsavoury mafia elements finding a home in Kenya courtesy of our politicians as reported recently about a Russian oligarch, is where the biggest threats to national security lie.
Please, let us not blame the children. They are alright. It is the adult politicians who take to corruption like money is running out of fashion, and rely on violence, that are threatening our national security. What needs focus is ending corruption and political violence to protect national security. Any other claims targeting children is gas-lighting by the same people destroying the country for everyone else!
Ms Guyo is a legal researcher, kdiguyo@gmail.com, @kdiguyo
