The Kenyan youth do not trust President William Ruto's government as well as the entire political leadership owing to corruption, unkept promises and poor service delivery, a new study by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) shows.
Further, bad governance resulting in deterioration of ethical standards in the public service, degradation of Kenya’s social fabric, intergenerational tensions characterised by ageism and resistance to youth participation as well as structural inequalities pose a serious threat to the peace of Kenya.
These impediments to cohesion were revealed by NCIC chairperson, Rev Samuel Kobia, on Monday during the commission’s meeting with the Kenya Editors’ Guild, where he shared key findings in the recently released report titled: Transgenerational Conversations- the Quest for Political Decency and Accountability in Kenya.
Rev Kobia said the immersion of the Generation Zoomers (Gen Zs) in the digital space has redefined trust in the transactional sphere, with the majority of the young people often executing their professional duties virtually, with persons they have never met thus operating on pure trust.
“This foundation built on trust however, contrasts with the prevailing climate in Kenya. They struggle with a government caught up in a crisis of confidence, plagued by corruption, inefficiency and broken promises,” he said.
To improve the strained relationships between the youth and the generations preceding them, the NCIC boss said it was crucial for media practitioners to utilise their platforms as bridges to facilitate improved and increased dialogues across the generations to narrow the existing gap.
This, he said, can be done by the mainstream media, together with social media platforms through the creation of spaces where diverse voices from different age sets can be heard, as well as highlighting issues relevant to both the Gen Z and older generations.
With the recent Gen Z demonstrations leading to the withdrawal of the controversial Finance Bill 2024 by President Ruto, NCIC noted that the youth are a significant force of change.
As such, they should be empowered rather than vilified and disenfranchised in the decision-making process.
Commissioner Danvas Makori recounted how the commission’s efforts to convince the Gen Zs to have a dialogue with the Head of State hit a brick wall.
This was because the youth openly expressed their mistrust of the government, saying the very same state was behind the extrajudicial killings, abductions and arbitrary arrests of their fellow young folks during and after the anti-Finance Bill protests.
“For the first time, I could not get through to the youth. I even had to talk to them via proxies because they were totally against meeting any government official, including President Ruto. We had no option but to tell the president that it was time to change tact,” he said.
For Rosalia Omungo, Kenya Editors Guild CEO, the media is crucial in ensuring the country, currently facing increasing divisiveness and intolerance in the political sphere, is not polarised but instead aid in promoting cohesion and unity.
Whereas the traditional avenues for hate speech and incitement including mainstream media, rallies and political gatherings can be traced, the KEG boss noted that the increase of hate speech on social media platforms is alarming and urged the Commission to put in place measures of tracking and addressing the toxicity on these platforms.
She also called on NCIC to conduct training for journalists in the area of identifying hate speech and pledged to partner with the Commission to build capacity for journalists.
“The media plays a significant role in shaping the agenda, and by extension, influencing the political climate. On the part of the media, we commit to playing our role and act as a second layer of defence against incorrect information in this age of fake news,” she said.
