Businessman Khalif Kairo is advising the youth to avoid participating in today's street protests.
In a video shared on his social media, Kairo claims that most of the demands made by Gen Z have already been addressed by President William Ruto and his Kenyan Kwanza administration.
However, the video has sparked controversy among his followers. Many criticized him, reminding him of his previous vow to stay silent on the ongoing protests.
Some have urged him to stop commenting on the matter, arguing that he no longer supports the causes that the youth are advocating for.
“I’m going to give you three reasons as to why you should not go to the streets today.
Did you read this?
Most of the objectives that we were fighting for have been met. The key was the finance bill and they have already withdrawn it. The whole Cabinet has gone home, IG Koome has resigned and now the president is saying Kazi Mtaani is coming back. So I’m going to appeal that we give it other different approaches and see if they will work," Kairo said.
In his second point, Kairo argues that not everyone participating in the protest has genuine intentions.
“Please think about people who have business in Nairobi CBD and they cannot be protected by the police. And police have also proven they can’t fully control this thing.
So the moment we go to the streets, there are people who are going to loot, and in the process, others might die. So I will appeal to you if you listen to me, give a thought to those people,” Kairo continued.
He went on to state that calls for President Ruto to step down would not resolve any issues.
“The problems that Kenyans have, even if Ruto resigns today and Gachagua takes over or even Wetangula. They are not saints. So this is the thing that needs a very clear plan and that will only work if we start recalling MPs or wait for elections and send everyone one. So for now we are just putting the country at risk and also putting the economy under a lot of stress. I’m not telling you this as your leader but rather as a young person who has considered several risks. So don’t go to the streets, it's not worth it,” he added.
On the other hand, Human Rights activist Boniface Mwangi states that today's protests aim to pressure the government to take accountability for the lives lost during previous demonstrations.
Mwangi confirmed that the peaceful protests will proceed as planned until the government assumes responsibility for the deceased protesters.
“So let’s not think we have won anything yet because we don’t have anything tangible we can say we have won. Why can’t the President call the families of those who died and apologize because he hasn’t done any of that,” Mwangi said.
The government has acknowledged that at least 25 protesters died during the demonstrations, while the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) reports a death toll of 41 and 360 injuries.
Here are some reactions to Kairo’s warning.
