Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, a former senior governance advisor to the United Nations, has lauded the youth of Kenya for standing up to defend their rights when their leadership failed to heed to their concerns.
He says the gap between leadership and the citizenry on the continent is so glaring that the youth of Kenya could not hold it anymore, capitalising on the government’s adamance on the concerns raised over the passage of the tax bill to express their anger.
According to the Professor, only a few people who belong to the political class, just as it is in Ghana and across other African countries, are enjoying the goodies of the state at the expense of the citizens.
He has been telling Alfred Ocansey, host of the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, June 29, 2024, that it was time politicians respected the equality of the people as codified in every constitution rather than setting themselves apart as first class citizens.
“The other issue is the issue of leadership and governance. If you listen carefully to the Kenyan young people, which I salute for what they did… the leadership that we have in our country and our continent, there is a serious disconnect between leadership and citizens despite what our Constitution says.
“There is that kind of distance because; first, these young people as they told us from the many interviews that we all witnessed, they see a distinct lifestyle of their leaders from what they know in the country. In other words, a small group of people, call them the political elites seem to have carved something for themselves in the country and they become the major consumption of the wealth of the country whereas the vast majority of the people are deprived. They are talking about the fact that there is serious unemployment in the country. Thousands of young people finish school and there is no job for them, just as we have in Ghana. Then they look at the lifestyles of these politicians from parliamentarians to the Presidency and all of them,” the Professor explained.
Several people were killed and hundreds injured as thousands of demonstrators stormed Kenya’s parliament to protest a controversial tax bill on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds.
At least three of the dead were shot as protesters overwhelmed police as they entered and set fire to parts of the parliament buildings.
Addressing the nation, Kenyan President William Ruto called the storming of parliament promised to prevent it from happening again “at whatever cost.”
The protests forced lawmakers to flee the legislature where earlier they had debated and passed the unpopular bill.
The bill included new taxes on items such as bread, vegetable oil, sugar, and manufactured goods, including sanitary towels and diapers. The government says the taxes are necessary to fund development programs and reduce the country’s public debt.
