Saturday, June 29, 2024 20:08 | By
Lawyer Paul Mwangi at a past function. PHOTO/Screenshot from People Daily Digital
Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga’s lawyer Paul Mwangi has reacted to President William Ruto’s recently unveiled roadmap that he intends to use to engage youths.
Mwangi, through his official account
Moi’s mistake
Mwangi said Moi had come up with a similar move to what Ruto was planning when he faced the famous Saba Saba protests on July 7, 1990, when Kenyans demanded multipartyism.
“Ruto makes the same ignorant mistake as Moi. In 1990, following the deadly July 7 Saba Saba riots calling for multipartyism, Moi set up the KANU Review Committee under the chairmanship of Professor George Saitoti,” Mwangi said in his statement.
The lawyer further points out that Moi’s plan failed because Kenyans were not asking for any reform, but rather rejecting single-party rule.
Ruto’s approach
Mwangi says that after Kenyan youths rejected the Finance Bill 2024, Ruto decided to form the National Multi-Sectoral Forum on Youth Engagement, aimed at addressing concerns raised by the youth, when the youth have not requested any conversation.
“But people were not asking for reforms in KANU. They had rejected the single-party regime and wanted other political parties.
“Now, following the recent Gen Z protests, Ruto has set up the National Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Youth Participation to address the concerns raised by the youth. But the youth are not asking for talks. They want action. Ruto’s move is as blind as Moi’s and will do nothing to stem the demand for drastic reforms in governance,” Mwangi said.
RUTO MAKES THE SAME IGNORANT MISTAKES AS MOI. In 1990, following the deadly 7 July Saba Saba riots calling for multipartyism, Moi set up the KANU Review Committee under the chairmanship of Professor George Saitoti. But people were not calling for reforms in KANU. They had…— Paul Mwangi (@PaulMMwangi) June 29, 2024
Ruto promised to engage youth after he refused to sign the Finance Bill 2024 following the deadly protests witnessed on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Ruto, in his address to the nation on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, announced that a National Multi-Sector Forum (NMSF) would be constituted to collaborate with all stakeholders to address concerns raised by the youth.
Ruto’s youth participation roadmap
The Head of Public Service, Felix Kosgei, in a statement released on Saturday, June 29, 2024, called on all umbrella organisations nationwide representing the youth, civil society, faith-based organisations, professional bodies, business community organisations, academia, student leadership, majority and minority leaders of parliament, the Council of Governors and other stakeholder groups to nominate representatives to constitute the National Steering Committee (NSC) of the NMSF.
“Nominations should be directed to the Executive Office of the President, Harambee House. Once the NMSF National Steering Committee is established, the President will facilitate the first session of the NSC for the sole purpose of the Committee independently identifying the forum’s leaders.
“Subsequently, the forum will carry out its activities independently in all 47 counties through a participatory, citizen-centric and inclusive process from the district level,” the statement read in part.
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