30 June 2024

• Any dialogue or conversation must be done online - Maina Kageni

• Don't allow yourselves to be grouped and asked to appoint leaders - Wahome Thuku

Media Personalities Maina Kageni and Wahome Thuku have weighed on the idea of the Gen Z movement remaining leaderless.

This is after President William Ruto ordered them to nominate two people who will represent them at the newly formed National Multi-Sectoral Forum (NMSF).

NMSF would be constituted to engage with stakeholders in addressing the concerns raised by the youth. The organization is supposed to have 100 members from different sectors of the economy.

However, the two are among many who are against the idea of boxing the youth into one box.

Maian Kageni’s Take

“This entire thing started online…. Any dialogue or conversation or discussion or deliberation or whatever…. MUST be done online, where young Kenyans, the true owners of this narrative, the owners of this country can individually have their opinion heard….. anything else, Apana….,”.

Wahome Thuku’s Take

GEN Zs. You are a specific group, defined by age set and nothing else. You are united by similar interests, desires, challenges, aspirations, motivations etc.

Don't allow yourselves to be grouped and asked to appoint leaders to some amorphous committee or commission. Unless you want to be finished or to finish yourselves.

Kwanza who will appoint those representatives? When? Where? How? Will you vote?

Let me tell you why your force has been addressed that fast, it's because you have numbers to send anyone home. Don't allow sideshows, please. And don't allow anyone to sit there and claim to represent you.

Use your forums to discuss and agree or disagree on the issues you have. You can even invite the entire cabinet to come there and listen and take notes. You are not holding night meetings and you are not meeting behind closed doors or in Naivasha, you are online.

Let them go and deal with those issues the best way they know how. Give them the practical solutions but let them go and discuss them in those committees and solve them.

Remain tribeless, faceless and fearless. Anything else and you are doomed.

What is your take on this?