Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has questioned why no single Gen Z protester was jailed during the anti-finance and anti-government demonstrations in June and July last year.
Speaking during a visit to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Mudavadi drew comparisons with protestors in the United Kingdom, some of whom he said were jailed.
“I’m not saying that people who have done the wrong things should get away scot free. But we had a week, a bad week, the Gen z week, sometime last year. We hope that we don’t see that again, going into the future.
“But three weeks after Kenya’s Gen Z Debacle, I think it was somewhere in the UK that we saw another technology-driven episode, and people were ramming into people’s houses and causing mayhem and creating matters of insecurity or dealing with it.
Mudavadi Wonders How No Single Gen Z Was Jailed After Anti-Ruto Protests
Mudavadi said that one key point people overlooked was that the courts in the UK took only two weeks to pass judgment, and some of the protestors were sentenced to up to three years in prison.
He further stated that no Kenyan Gen Z protester was jailed, noting that while some were arrested, they were later released on cash bail as low as Ksh 500.
“Whether it was a court in Liverpool or a court where these people were jailed within three weeks for between two years to three years. Do you know? In Kenya’s situation, no gen z was jailed,” the Prime CS said.
“They were being let out on fines of Ksh 500 Bonds. There you are. Can you imagine if a Kenyan court had jailed somebody in three weeks?”
Also Read: Mudavadi Responds to Ruto Appointing Retired Politicians to Diplomatic Missions
Mudavadi Recalls Kibaki’s Calm Amid Media Criticism
Mudavadi noted that while criticism is sometimes unevenly directed at countries, what matters most is the continued space for expression and dialogue.
“Sometimes the approach is not exactly even in the level of criticism that is loaded onto nations,” he said.
“But what is important is that even then, they’re able to express themselves. They still bring out those stories. We believe in freedom of the press. They have spoken, and we move on.”
Mudavadi recalled the late President Mwai Kibaki’s approach to media scrutiny, describing him as a leader who remained unfazed by negative headlines.
“We had a very famous president called Kibaki—may his soul rest in eternal peace. He would tell you, if you’re worried about the headline of the day, pick that one, bring me the newspapers for the last three or four days,” Mudavadi added.
“Then he’d say, look at those headlines—have they changed anything? So he would tell us, ‘You people, do your work and don’t worry too much about the headlines’.”
BBC Releases ‘Blood Parliament’ Report
Mudavadi’s remarks come in the wake of the BBC Africa Eye documentary Blood Parliament, which exposed members of Kenya’s security forces allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of three protesters outside Parliament on June 25, 2024.
The documentary sparked public outrage, as it revealed how security officers violently responded to youthful demonstrators who had breached Parliament grounds on the day lawmakers voted to approve controversial tax hikes.
Also Read: KDF Responds to BBC Documentary Showing Soldiers Shooting Protesters at Parliament
Kenyans took to social media to express their anger, pressing the government to hold security officers accountable for the killings and injuries of peaceful protesters
Leading human rights organisations have also renewed calls for investigations into the killing of protesters by Kenya’s security forces during the demonstrations, urging accountability and justice for the victims.
The fallout intensified after the BBC announced on Monday, April 27, that it had cancelled a private screening of the documentary in Nairobi, citing “pressure from the authorities.”
“We are very disappointed not to have been able to share the documentary and panel discussion as planned,” said a BBC spokesperson.
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