Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga has urged the political class to resist the temptation to hijack the ongoing Gen Z-led movement, warning that doing so risks derailing the genuine concerns being raised by the country’s youth.
Speaking in Bondo on Friday, July 4, 2025, Oburu expressed solidarity with young Kenyans pushing for change, saying their voices must be heard without political interference or repression.
“I support Gen Z because I’m also Gen Z, but I would like to advise that the political class does not seize the agenda of Gen Z for their own purpose. Let the Gen Z put their agenda up, and let us try our best to solve them without killing them,” he stated.
Condemnation of violence
The senator condemned the use of lethal force during demonstrations, emphasising that no loss of life or property can be justified in the name of maintaining order.
“We don’t want our people to be killed, and I cannot support the loss of life. I also cannot support the loss of property, but what we must support is a democracy,” he emphasised.
The senator advocated for constitutional democratic processes as the proper mechanism for political change, reminding citizens that elections occur every five years to provide opportunities for leadership renewal.
“We must realise that in a democratic system, there are elections which come every five years. If you are given the mandate to serve, you serve us within the five years given to you by the constitution,” Odinga explained.
Calls for national unity
Oburu called for sober engagement with the youth, stating that while demonstrations are a constitutional tool to express opinion, they should not be misused as a mechanism for regime change.
“Demonstrations are not a means to change systems. Demonstrations are a means to express an opinion, an opinion which you don’t want to accept. People want to show you through demonstrations, but we should not use demonstrations as a means of changing,” he said.
He also cautioned against inflammatory rhetoric such as calls to “occupy State House,” questioning the legality of such moves and warning that Kenya could easily slide into chaos if peace is not safeguarded.
“When you say you want to go and occupy State House, under which provision in the constitution do you want to go and occupy State House?” he questioned.
“Let us not break our country, let our country be peaceful because it is through peace that we shall achieve development and it is through peace and it is not beyond us to have war. We’ve seen war in South Sudan, in Congo, in Somalia. If we’re not careful, it can happen here. We must treat our country with the sobriety it requires,” he added.
