It is no longer ‘our time to eat’ as Kenyans demand for higher levels of accountability

By Ayub Mwangi

Since June this year, Kenya has witnessed a series of civil and labour related unrests, the mother of which was the Gen Z protests that sought to push the government to abandon the Finance Bill 2024.

The protests were successful and an embattled President William Ruto was forced to withdraw the Bill, and reconstituted his government in line with the demands by the protesters who were complaining about corruption and largesse in government.

The protesters had been irked by images of government officials living in opulence at a time when the majority of citizens could barely make ends meet, and a time the government was seeking to impose a bigger tax burden on their shoulders.

The young, educated and tech savvy protesters were calling upon the government to higher levels of accountability in the management of public affairs.

Few months down the line we have seen protests by employees of the Kenya Airports Authority (KPA) demanding that the government comes clean about a deal to hand over the management of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Adani Group, an Indian owned company.

The aviation workers claim that the deal poses a risk to their jobs in favour of foreign workers.

Does it mean that the government and other duty bearers cannot meet part of their bargain if protesters do not push them? Should the government wait for protests or should it listen to the ground before taking any action?

Evidently, the cheese has moved. It is no longer business as usual. While government officials could engage in all manner of corruption without fear of reprisal, the levels of awareness have risen and more people can now demand for accountability.

Times have moved from when only a handful of people would oppose the government. Even then, they would be christened dissidents, tribalists, and enemies of development.

Most of them would find themselves behind bars for daring to raise their voices. The corrupt leaders would rally their tribesmen behind them and use them to attack anyone who opposed the "it is our time to eat” system. 

Today however, tables have turned. The levels of education are high enough for citizens to be aware of what is happening. Citizens are likely to demand for accountability citing the power given to them by the constitution.

The leaders have no choice but to improve on the management of public affairs, become servants of the people and deliver as per the mandate and the manifestos upon which they were elected.

The protesters are calling for a higher level of accountability and openness from the leaders,failure to which they will always find themselves in a reputational crisis.

The writer is a communication consultant based in Mombasa. He can be reached via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.