Ukombozi (freedom or liberation) is more of a verb than a noun. It means that the tree of liberation must and should continue to be nurtured. In Kenya, after many years of colonialism – spanning between 1920 when Kenya was declared a colony and a protectorate – by the British, the Kenyan people had already decided as early as the rebellions of the Nandi people led by Koitalel arap Samoei or the Agikuyu led by Waiyaki wa Hinga that they want their freedom back. And more so, land that had been carved out to create the so-called ‘white highlands’ of lush green and very fertile lands.
Many liberation movements emerged from different parts of the country, from the Coast of Kenya to Lake Victoria. The most memorable of them all was the Kenya Land and Freedom Army, popularly known as the Mau Mau, between the 1950s until Kenya was granted flag independence. Unlike the United States of America where such a liberation movement emerged with the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Kenyan liberation struggles ended up in the three (3) Lancaster House Conferences of 1961, 1962 and 1963, and afterwards, in the House of Commons, where the British are the ones who passed the legislation termed the Ordinance Act. What a paradox?
Americans declared their own independence, and years later wrote the 1787 Philadelphia Constitution. Kenya’s first law – the Lancaster Constitution was drafted and agreed by and within the confines of London, where after three conferences of 1961, 1962 and 1963, Kenyan delegates left London with an Independence Constitution. Were Kenyans actually liberated? Did they achieve land and freedom from the British? Hell no. But it was symbolic of a liberation when the Union Jack was lowered in Uhuru (freedom) Gardens and the new Kenyan flag hoisted for the first time on 1st June 1963 amid jubilation and ululations from the black African Kenyans.
Initial Years of Liberation?
In May 1963 elections, the Kenyan African National Union (KANU) defeated the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU), and won majority seats in the 129 Members of the National Assembly and also in the Senate composed of 41 Members. In December of the same year, Johnston Kamau Ngengi (alias Jomo Kenyatta) was sworn in as Kenya’s first Prime Minister. Notably, Kenya was still a ‘dominion’ of the British, with Malcom McDonald still as the Governor representing the Queen of Britain.
The ‘dominion’ status lasted for one year; as in 1964 Kenya’s bicameral parliament passed the first amendment to the Independence Constitution effectively making Kenya a Republic and Jomo Kenyatta as President without holding any election . Kenyatta’s presidency lasted until 1978, when he passed away. While this may seem unthinkable, the GEN-Zs should be aware that it was declared in 1976 by the then Attorney General (Charles Mugane Njonjo) that anyone who contemplated or imagined the death of the President, would be committing treason, an offence punishable by death!
Enter Daniel Toroitich arap Moi in 1978. His presidency lasted until he ‘quit’ office in 2002, courtesy of a constitutional term limit that was passed by the National Assembly in 1992, after the declaration of the return of a multiparty State, by Moi in December 1991. By deleting Section 2Athrough the 19th amendment of the Constitution in 1982, Kenya was Moi, and Moi was Kenya: literally speaking, since the political, social, economic and other developmental projects of the country would not and never happened until Moi said so. The rest, as they say, is history. Moi’s autocratic and kleptocratic regime lasted for 24 years, with wanton violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. So, it is worth asking, how was Kenya liberated and from what?
Second Liberation?
It was the street protests of human rights activists and the political opposition to Moi leading to the amendment of section 2A of the Kenya constitution that was eventually termed as the second liberation. While it represented the opening of Kenyás democratic space, the return of multiparty politics did not significantly alter the political landscape. Similar to the “Ruto Must Go” slogan used by GEN-Zs , in the 1990s and early 2000s \ the “Moi must go” slogan was popularly used. The electoral win of Mwai Kibaki in the 2002 elections by a landslide against Moi’s preferred candidate, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, was the culmination of the ‘Moi must go” fervour.
The early years of the Kibaki regime were greeted with unadulterated optimism and heightened vigilance of the public towards the government. However, the loss of a plebiscite on a Draft constitution supported by the Kibaki regime marked Kenya’s return to ‘factory settings.’. Kibaki fired his Cabinet, and eventually re-appointed those politicians who had supported the Draft Constitution while leaving out those opposed to the same. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) was born in this crucible of struggle led by the erstwhile opposition figure head, Raila Amolo Odinga.
New Constitution, but Constitutionalism?
In 2013, Kibaki left office and bequeathed State power to the Uhuru-Ruto jubilee regime. Under Kibaki, Kenya witnessed modest growth of the economy, but corruption still thrived , not to mention impunity and lack of constitutionalism. However, it was under Kibaki that a new Constitution of Kenya was promulgated on Friday, August 27, 2010. Therefore, beyond the economic growth, Kibaki left Kenya with a new political and juridical order, that we pride ourselves in – said to be one of the most progressive constitutions in the world.
Unfortunately, as a great professor of law, Okoth Ogendo, once summed it up when writing about African countries, we may have a great Constitution, but the problem of lack of constitutionalism still persists. The Uhuru-Ruto regime was supposed to implement the Constitution to the letter, but they failed woefully! Unconstitutional laws were passed by the bicameral Parliament, from 2013 to when Uhuru left office in 2022. The Ruto-Gachagua regime that was elected in the 2022 elections have continued with the same trend.
What that means therefore, when we discuss liberation, is that Kenya may have a liberal Constitution, but the people are not free! If development is freedom, as Amartya Sen sums it up in his book, Development as Freedom, then we can contend that Kenya is neither developed nor liberated. To Sen, there are three questions one can ask when interrogating the meaning of development in the context of Kenya: first, what has been done to deal with poverty that continues plaguing Kenya despite many years of freedom? Second, why do all these inequalities persist, where only a few Kenyans, plus some British aristocrats that remained in Kenya despite Kenya’s ‘independence’, control over 80 percent of productive land and assets in Kenya? Third, what have we done to deal with rampant unemployment or under-employment of our youthful and productive society with knowledge and skills to propel Kenya forward?
Enter the GEN-Zs
While it is evidently clear that the tectonic plates of the liberation movement have been gradually and perpetually shifting, Kenyans were actually surprised or shocked by what the GEN-Zs were doing in the streets all over the country. The promises of independence, which were to deal with poverty, disease and ignorance under Jomo Kenyatta, had not been kept by successive regimes. If Ukombozi, means liberation, then it is safe to say that Kenya is Not Yet Uhuru, as Oginga Odinga wrote in the early years of independence.
As early as 1966, Kenya’s ruling elite turned from what the aspirations of the Land and Freedom Army were to engaging in wanton theft of the land meant for the fighters, leading to a situation where the political class has actually taken over nearly over 80 percent of that land. The perpetual pilferage of the State resources – what many call corruption – has necessitated anger across all the generations, not just the GEN-Zs!
Their anger is palpable. The GEN-Zs simply illuminated what the entire country has been feeling. What was remarkable about their protests was that they were ‘tribe-less’, ‘class-less’, and remained ‘leader-less’. The coordinated countrywide protests, and the unanticipated nature and strength of mobilization through the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok and so on, was unprecedented in Kenya.
The Revolution was not Televised
The GEN-Zs protests are similar to a song produced in 1971 by Gill Scott-Heron, titled: The Revolution will not be Televised. Sang at a time when America was experiencing some turbulence as black people pressed for civil rights, the lyrics are crystal clear. That once people get to a point of no return, they will do what it takes. Those who work in the mainstream media, such as radio and the television, will not even notice or know about the same. Many people will be caught flat-footed in their homes. That is what happened in Kenya between June and August 2024.
The political elite did not see it coming, and they started off with insults to the young generation, but later admitted that there was something brewing. They were caught flat-footed in the hallowed chambers of the August House where they hid on June 25, 2024. The business class was equally unprepared during the turbulent times, losing some of their businesses and assets at the time of the protests. Many parents of these GEN-Zs, like the author of this essay, did not actually know their kids’ intentions, until they saw them on the streets.
So, what next? Not the way forward. The emergence of the “GEN-Z” protests has led to an inter-generational condemnation of the Ruto regime. After the firing of his Cabinet, Ruto re-appointed some of the same people GEN-Zs were opposed to. Even with the appointment of the ODM stalwarts into the Cabinet, the anger of Kenyans has not subsided. Social media and mainstream traditional media, barometers of the public mood, point to this. Kenyans’ anger was on full display on these platforms during the public participation engagements that were held across the country when at the time of the Deputy President’s impeachment.. While GEN-Z’s protests have seemingly petered out, there is a palpable lack of confidence in the Ruto regime, and hence the next probable episode will be the exit of Ruto from power. 2027 is too far a time to wait.
