On a calm afternoon, President William Ruto stood before the nation and issued a half-hearted apology to Kenya’s youth. “If the Gen Zs were wronged, then sorry,” he said, brushing past a moment that should have been marked by solemn national reflection. It was not the apology Kenya needed. It was a pseudo-lawyerly deflection masquerading as empathy. And that “if”—small as it is—did too much heavy lifting.
It suspended truth in midair, as though there is still ambiguity over whether state power has been misused against a generation that is now the face of civic awakening in Kenya. Less than a week after that statement, Rose Njeri was arrested—not for rioting, not for destruction of property, not for inciting violence. She was arrested for doing what the Constitution not only permits but requires: Facilitating public participation on the Finance Bill 2025.
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By Gitobu Imanyara