WE ARE ALL GUILTY:
The Kenyan Gen Z has found itself at the centre of growing social unrest and demonstrations across the country.
It is very clear that this generation has faced a perfect storm of challenges that have left them feeling let down, abandoned, and rightfully angry.
Many in Gen Z were brought up in the shadows of absent parents. Some due to economic crisis, others due the ravages of diseases, and some due to the dissolution of the African family structure.
Some were raised by single mothers, and some found themselves as orphans facing a very unfriendly future.
This lack of stable family support from a young age has taken a toll on Gen Z, leaving emotional scars and a sense of abandonment.
On top of that, this generation has been brought up amidst crippling economic hardship in this Nation.
Access to affordable education has become increasingly elusive, with many struggling to pay school fees at all levels of the education structure.
Opportunities for skills training and capacity building are seriously inadequate, leaving the Gen Z unprepared for the job market.
The employment prospects for Gen Z are also bleak, with a severe shortage of job opportunities. And those bold enough to try and start their own small businesses, lack capital for start-up.
Unfortunately, this vulnerable generation has also been exploited frequently by unscrupulous politicians, who have shamelessly used them to advance their own agendas.
Promises of a brighter future have been made, only to be repeatedly broken, fuelling a deep sense of mistrust and betrayal.
This is why the Gen Z is boiling with anger.
They have been let down by the very institutions and systems that should have nurtured and supported them - their families, schools, churches, and civic leaders.
This accumulation of frustrations has created deep rooted anger.
As a society, we must urgently address the multifaceted challenges facing the youth in this Nation.
Only by investing in their education, employment, and well-being can we hope to provide them with the opportunities and support they deserve.
It is time to listen to their voices, understand their struggles, and work together to build a more just and equitable future for them.
We have no choice but to listen and act swiftly.
To all our Gen Zs: We are sorry.
Please give us another opportunity to listen to you, and to reason with you.
We will listen to you in our homes, our Churches, our Mosques, our Temples, our Offices, our Markets, our County Assemblies, in Parliament and in State House.
God bless Gen Z.
God bless Kenya.
Boniface Amani Gichina (CPM)
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