A new generation of activists is emerging in Kenya, armed with smartphones rather than placards preferred by their predecessors to drive political and social change.
As the East African Country grapples with soaring living costs and controversial government policies, Generation Z — the term generally used to describe people born during the late 1990s and early 2000s — has dug into the digital trenches, harnessing the power of social media to fuel a wave of political activism, this has shaken leaders, with several airing their views recently.
The latest is National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah, who has advised leaders to 'ignore Social Media Users who critic their policies or call them out on their short-comings.
Speaking over the weekend, Ichung'wah informed leaders that leadership is a self-chosen venture which no one forced them to pursue and just like any other job, comes with it's own challenges.
" As a leader, ignore what Social Media Users Say About you, even if they insult you, do not mind them. You chose to be a leader and this job comes with these challenges" said Ichung'wah.
The Kikuyu Member of Parliament, urged leaders to instead focus on service delivery, noting that the citizenry will gauge their performance based on their development record and not the intensity of insults they receive online.
The National Assembly majority leader seems to have softened his stance from last year, when he challenged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to arrest and make public those using social media to insult leaders.
Speaking on December 27, 2024, Ichung’wah stated that in line with the provisions of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act 2018, security officers should make use of the law to apprehend cyberbullies and take them before the courts of law.
In addition, the majority leader noted that arresting those violating the Cybercrime Act would tame online bullies in the country.
“I want to challenge the DCI, kama kuna watu wamefanya makosa ya misuse of computers and cybercrimes, arrest them and make it public, and take them before courts of law so that it becomes a deterrent to those who insult and do very uncivilized things, AI not only to insult but also to do very uncivilized things.
“Implement that law to end this shenanigans of people insulting each other with impunity and imagining nothing can happen to them, you must make use of the laws that we created and enacted in Parliament in 2018, especially the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act,” Ichung’wah said.
He further urged youths to desist from taking advantage of social media platforms and freedom of speech to insult leaders, urging them to practice restraint and respect.
“To the youth, have respect, even if you do not respect me as a leader then respect the families of those leaders, you might not like Speaker Wetang’ula but remember he has a parent,” Ichung’wah urged the youths.
