A BBC World Questions debate in Nairobi on Tuesday erupted into confrontations as audience and panellists took the government to task over alleged human rights violations, economic hardship, and governance failures.
The confrontations left National Assembly Majority Whip Sylvanus Osoro, representing Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi who had left for the US, struggling to defend the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Mr Osoro, who represented the government on the panel, faced sustained jeers, interruptions, and sharp criticism throughout the two-hour event, which focused on human rights, state accountability, taxation, youth unemployment, and the fallout from the 2024 Gen Z protests.
Tensions escalated when the discussion turned to abductions and killings linked to last year’s nationwide Gen Z protests.
Several members of the audience demanded an explanation from the government regarding alleged enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the slow pace of investigations into those incidents.
Mr Osoro downplayed the concerns, insisting that many of the cases cited were historical and had already been addressed.
“What they are talking about are events of the Gen Z protests in 2024—not last week or a few weeks ago. What does that tell you? That there are issues that happened in the past but have been addressed,” he said.
The remarks drew immediate jeers from the audience at the Louis Leakey Auditorium at the National Museum in Nairobi, many of whom accused the government of trivialising the concerns of grieving families.
Mr Osoro went on to defend the State’s record on human rights, arguing that there was “no evidence that the abductions were State-sanctioned.”
Silvanus Osoro MP and Majority Whip in the National Assembly during the BBC World Questions interview.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation
“What the opposition calls abductions—some of them are legal arrests. They are picked by authorities. If somebody is picked by authorities, that is not abduction but an arrest. Once you are arrested, taken to police custody and presented before a court of law, that is due process,” he added.
Further heckles erupted when he cited Article 39 of the Constitution on freedom of movement as evidence that the State was protecting rights rather than violating them.
When pressed by the moderator, BBC correspondent Jonny Dymond and panellists on whether the government had thoroughly investigated all cases, Mr Osoro gave an example from his legal practice.
“There was a case where somebody was allegedly abducted, and when I appeared for former acting IG Masengeli, the alleged abductee came with an affidavit saying otherwise.”
The audience again reacted strongly, dismissing his defence as inadequate.
Human Rights Campaigner and End Femicide Kenya’s National Advocacy Lead Zaha Indimuli rejected Mr Osoro’s claims, saying they ignored the gravity of the situation.
“Osoro is being insensitive, yet some people’s lives were lost. Most of the abductions ended in deaths. We have had activists abducted in Tanzania and Uganda, and politicians here even called for their torture,” she said.
She linked several deaths—such as that of Kogi, the recovery of Denzel’s body in a quarry, and the Kware deaths—to what she termed a rise in State oppression.
“Abductions in Kenya have become rampant because the government cannot take criticism, cannot listen to the people, and cannot hear what young people are saying. State oppression and authoritarian rule must stop.”
Ms Indimuli called for reforms to strengthen democratic institutions. “We need a leadership that allows the judiciary and legislature to be independent, separates the church from the State, and recognises that power belongs to the people.”
Peoples’ Liberation Party leader and former Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Martha Karua used the platform to highlight what she described as governance and economic failures rooted in disregard for constitutional principles.
Responding to a question on economic recovery, she said Kenya must review its taxation model to ease pressure on low-income earners.
“We need to reform our tax policy to reflect a just and equitable society. Those with the most wealth should pay the highest taxes. We cannot continue squeezing low-income Kenyans while protecting the wealthy,” she said.
“The alternative leadership model the youth demonstrated in the 2024 protests is in the Constitution. Chapter 10 on national values, the Public Finance Act—these demand accountability and transparency. Our problem has never been the absence of laws but the failure to uphold them. We must return to value-based leadership.”
“We have exposed our people to suffer in foreign countries. We must create an enabling environment for Kenyans to work at home and ensure the private sector thrives.”
As the debate intensified, Mr Osoro repeatedly complained that the moderators and the audience were biased against him.
“You have set me up with three panelists on one side and an audience that has perfected activism,” he protested, prompting more jeers.
He also objected to time limits imposed on him: “You cannot limit me to three minutes to articulate government policies while the audience is shouting and heckling.”
The moderator attempted to restore order several times, but tension remained high.
On taxation, Mr Osoro insisted that claims that the poor were overburdened were inaccurate.
“It is untrue that the poor are taxed more than the rich. Equitable distribution is a work in progress. Resources should not be skewed based on how regions vote,” he said.
“The notion that wealthy people are rich because of corruption must end. We cannot accuse every rich person. Government has not created enabling environments for a select few alone.”
But the audience challenged the statement, with some shouting that the economic reality on the ground contradicted government assertions.
Mr Osoro further argued that the public was expecting too much from the State. “We should not imagine that the solution to our personal problems will come from the government. Some of us are competing with the dead in sleep and think our lives will change overnight. No government can solve personal issues, even if leadership changes every five years.”
The remarks drew some of the loudest jeers of the night, with sections of the audience accusing him of mocking citizens’ struggles amid rising cost of living.
Provost of All Saints Cathedral, Canon Evans Omollo, took a moral stance in his remarks, accusing the political class of prioritising self-enrichment over public service.
“We need servant leadership. We have seen a selfish political class. In Kenya, politics has been commercialised: steal as much money as you can, win an election, then use the office to enrich yourself further,” he said.
He rejected claims that churches had failed to check political leaders. “Let no one blame the ACK Church. We speak the truth, but politicians must take responsibility for their failures,” he said.
Canon Omollo also addressed youth unemployment and labour migration. “Our youth are being exported abroad for menial jobs despite having degrees. That is a failure of leadership. We must empower the people.”
The discussion on exporting labour overseas prompted accusations from audience that the government was exploiting desperate graduates. Several young people said the State was offering only low-income manual jobs abroad, despite the high educational qualifications of the youth.
Mr Osoro defended the labour export programme, saying it was part of global mobility and that Kenya could not ignore opportunities for external employment.
But the audience pushed back, shouting that the jobs were exploitative and that the government was failing to create opportunities locally.
By the end of the debate, Mr Osoro had faced the most difficult night among the panelists. His attempts to defend the government were repeatedly drowned out by jeers, rebuttals, and pointed questioning.
The debate captured broader national frustrations over rising living costs, perceived democratic backsliding, growing distrust in state institutions, and unresolved grievances arising from the 2024 Gen Z protests.
It also highlighted the widening disconnect between the government and a politically energized population that continues to demand accountability and reforms.
