Drain the Swamp: The Youth's Manifesto for a Better Kenya

We are leaderless, fearless, tribeless—well, at least we used to be. Now we only have one tribe, and that is Kenya; one fear, and that is losing our country to corruption, impunity, and incompetence; and one leader, which is our vision for a better Kenya. Now more than ever, we need to organize ourselves and speak in one voice. This platform is crucial to enable all of us to speak and think along the same line. I am going to outline demands that we, as young Kenyans, have agreed upon and demand be acted on as soon as possible.

Why We Fight

It has been 60 years of independence, and the benefits we thought we would reap are still elusive. Our debt ceiling is ever-growing, our unemployment rate ever-increasing. We live in a country where medical graduates have to spend a night outside Afya House just to get internships. Teachers have cried for their plight for far too long till they have almost given up. We live in a country where a majority of people live from hand to mouth, only affording the bare necessities. For decent education or healthcare, one must resort to the private sector, a privilege only a few can afford.

But that is not all. The worst is the lack of progress. It is almost as if we cannot move forward, and this bothers us deeply as Kenyan youths. A good example is Israel's food production system. The government of Israel developed extensive networks of water pipes and reservoirs to support its irrigation system, reusing up to 85% of its water for agriculture, and employing desalination techniques to ensure water availability and robust agricultural production. In California, food production has been taken to the next level with vertical farming—soilless methods using hydroponics and aeroponics, controlled environments, and up to 90% water savings, increasing productivity by growing crops vertically.

China, with a population of over 1 billion, has tremendously improved its food production to feed its nation. Many have seen the seedless mangoes and overly juicy oranges from China on social media. Meanwhile, here in Kenya, 60 years after independence, people are still starving due to lack of food. In fact, we import most of our food products—from maize to chicken and eggs, to potatoes and rice. We are a country that cannot feed itself, the basic requirement any nation should have. It was shocking when Ukraine, a country at war, decided to donate grains to us, a country that claims to be functional. It is also heartbreaking that we are a country where someone can sell farmers fake fertilizer—the very same person who sold them fake seeds—and today he walks free (actually he is driving expensive cars in our streets).

What We Want

To be clear and precise, we demand:

1. Resignation of the President: The President MUST step down.

2. Dissolution of Cabinet Secretaries: All cabinet secretaries SHALL(Mandatory) be dissolved.

3. Dissolution of Parliament: Both the Senate and National Assembly, including women representatives and MPs, SHALL(Mandatory) be dissolved.

4. Dissolution of County Governments: Governors and MCAs SHALL(Mandatory) be dissolved.

There is a narrative that the country will be plunged into chaos if we do this. However, the government is mainly there for governance purposes. Without it, the country will still function. i.e. Money is under the treasury, which is not one person. Removal of the CS for Treasury will not stop others in that office from doing their jobs. Taxes are collected by KRA, not the President, and salaries are paid by SRC, not the Parliament. Security is offered by the police and army, which will still operate whether the county government is there or not.

We SHALL(Mandatory) have an interim government proposed by us, the people, and this will only be temporary till we reconstruct our system and vote for new leaders under the new system and constitution. We SHALL(Mandatory) not have the military take over under any circumstances whatsoever. During this time, public participation will be paramount, based on frameworks we will establish to ensure we develop a people-centric government.

A New System

As one philosopher once said,

"This system hasn’t worked for my parents, hasn’t worked for my elder siblings, and won’t definitely work for me."

The system is corrupt and does not have the common mwananchi's interest at heart. When the white man came to Kenya, he introduced a system of governance meant to marginalize and oppress Africans while benefiting the white colonialists. Our forefathers fought and died for our freedom. However, this system was never significantly changed and was used by the Jomo Kenyatta and Moi regimes to oppress and destroy this country further. Despite several referendums and constitutional changes, most of these were orchestrated by the political class, who were the benefiting parties.

The 2010 constitution tried to fix this gap, but deliberately and intentionally, many loopholes were left that the political elite have been using to evade the law. Since its inception, it is clear that almost no politicians have ever been jailed for corruption. The number of people who have been charged with corruption cases is laughable. This is a clear indication that this constitution has failed to combat corruption in its totality. The police still operate like the colonial era, used to inflict fear among citizens. This was evident in how they were used to murder our innocent brothers, sisters, and children in the recent wave of protests.

The current system cannot combat unemployment. It was thought that education would fix the gap, but instead, we have more and more unemployed educated people. The incompetence in this government is at its highest, from elected officials to those appointed. It is as if the system is designed to reward the most incompetent and corrupt individuals while punishing the smart, intelligent, and hardworking. That is why educated people, after studying hard to get degrees, have to beg for jobs while school dropouts run our government and are awarded CEO and director positions.

After disbanding the government, we SHALL(Mandatory) select an interim government, conduct public participation to come up with a new system that favors the people, and conduct new elections based on the new system.

Irreducible Minimums

Arrest and Prosecution of Murderers

All cops involved in the murders of Rex and our fellow comrades, including former Chief Police Inspector Japheth Koome, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki, and CS for Defense Aden Duale, SHALL(Mandatory) be charged in court and prosecuted. We also demand the arrest and prosecution of the MP who claimed to murder innocent Kenyans if they protest.

Corruption

No Kenyan money will go unaccounted for. We demand:

1. A comprehensive audit of the national debt and how it was utilized to the last shilling.

2. National revenue collection details for the last two years of the UDA government.

3. An audit of how all this revenue was utilized.

After obtaining these details, all lost money SHALL(Mandatory) be recovered, and all those found culpable SHALL(Mandatory) be taken to court and prosecuted. With this information, we can also have a discussion about how to manage our debt and prioritize or slash budgets based on the data.

Good Governance

Our government has been used as a venue for people to enrich themselves. It's almost as if to get rich in Kenya, one must either be a politician or know one. This has to stop. Our leaders should serve us, not vice versa, and not get elected for personal gains. We demand:

Disbandment of the Senate:

In a country grappling with debt, it doesn’t make sense why we need two houses of representatives. MPs from a certain county will take responsibility for overseeing operations of that county. i.e. MPs from Nairobi County SHALL(Mandatory) be the overseers of Nairobi County government.

Disbandment of Women Representatives:

Women representatives have failed to bridge the gender balance and have introduced excessive budgets for people barely doing any work. Parties should become the forefront of gender balance.

Reduction of Government Officials' Salaries:

MPs' salaries SHALL(Mandatory) be reduced to a maximum of 400,000 KSh.

Scrapping Off Sitting Allowances

Issuance of sitting allowances SHALL(Mandatory) be immediately halted. The remaining allowances will be reviewed and either removed or rearranged as deemed appropriate. Parliament SHALL (Mandatory) have no power to increase its own salary.

Meritocratic Government

We demand a government where officials are selected based on qualifications, not tribe, not gender, not political connections, but purely on merit. For instance:

• Health Ministry: To be headed by the most qualified doctor, nurse, or clinical officer who understands the healthcare system deeply.
• Defense Ministry: To be led by an experienced military official who understands the struggles and cultures of our defense forces.

We are discussing more measures to ensure our government only has the most qualified personnel.

National Ideology

As explained in this document, it is important we derive our own ideology as a country. We cannot have a situation where every five years a new government comes into place and scraps existing ideologies, economic models, and projects to replace them with their own. We must decide what we stand for as a country.

A New Constitution

The current constitution has not worked in our favor. It was designed with loopholes to benefit a few. We want a new constitution made by us. This constitution will have enhanced features to:

1. Fight Corruption: Empower institutions like the EACC and DPP to follow up all cases to completion, and hold them accountable if they fail.
2. Amplify the Voice of the People: Ensure that public participation is meaningful and effective.
3. Increase Accountability: Provide clear mandates for counties and strengthen institutions to prevent misuse of power.

More details can be found here and here.

Public Officials' Conduct

We demand that public officials address us with respect and dignity. Titles such as "Your Excellency" and "Mheshimiwa" are hereby banned indefinitely. Instead, they should refer to us as "Your Honor," acknowledging that it is because of us that they can serve in their positions.

What's Next

We are now focusing on removing the current system and seeking justice for all our comrades who gave their blood for us. After this, we will decide on an interim government as we develop a framework for public participation and a new system. Only then can we have fresh elections that follow our new system.

Our vision remains the same: Build a Better Kenya. Since the current system doesn’t work for us, we SHALL(Mandatory) keep fighting for our rights until we have the country we desire.

Author

This document was compiled by @kenyansforum