Shadrack Nyakoe
In a hard-hitting open letter titled “From Independence to Now: A Nation Stalked by State Violence — The Hour of Reckoning is Coming,” the Justice and Equity Council (UK Chapter) has issued a stark warning to Kenya’s governors, legislators, and state officials, declaring that a public awakening is inevitable if current governance trends persist.
The Council, led by Chairperson Sebastian Onyango, Secretary Janet Sutton, and Organising Secretary Rose Nyarkasiringi, accuses the current administration of betraying its promises of bottom-up economic revival, unity, and integrity, calling the government “a grotesque display of arrogance, murder, deceit, and contempt for the people.”
“Hii serikali ni ndoto mbaya — this government is a nightmare,” the statement quotes a commuter on a Nairobi matatu, echoing growing public sentiment. “But perhaps not all nightmares end in despair — some awaken the sleeping giant that Kenya has long been.”
The letter paints a grim picture of Kenya’s governance since independence, decrying decades of greed, looting, tribal manipulation, and political patronage. It argues that successive regimes, despite changing names and slogans, have perpetuated the same cycle of exploitation and impunity.
According to the Council, both the national and county governments have become “marketplaces where votes and loyalty are traded for cash and contracts,” while parliament and the opposition have allegedly abdicated their oversight roles to join in “boardroom deals and handshake politics.”
“Governors are miniature monarchs ruling through intimidation and handouts,” the letter reads. “The opposition, once the voice of the people, now negotiates for crumbs from the Lootall brigade sitting at the house on the hill.”
The statement further highlights the stark contrast between ballooning government budgets and collapsing public institutions. While allocations for the Presidency and Parliament have reportedly risen by over 50 percent, hospitals are detaining patients for unpaid bills, universities are shutting down, and schools lack KSh 3.3 billion in capitation for vulnerable children.
Despite this bleak picture, the Council expresses hope that Kenya’s spirit of resistance remains alive — the same spirit that once fought colonialism, one-party rule, and dictatorship.
“Nightmares awaken giants,” the letter declares. “The pain of over-taxation, corruption, unemployment, and inequality may finally stir Kenyans from their slumber.”
Drawing parallels to the optimism of the 2002 transition, the Council insists that change will not come from recycled politicians or tribal alliances but from citizens themselves — through civic awakening, accountability, and the courage to demand better governance.
“The people will realise that salvation will not come from recycled politicians, tribalism, or opportunistic alliances, but from themselves,” it states.
Concluding with a warning, the Council proclaims that Kenya cannot sustain such inequality and impunity indefinitely.
“There will be a reckoning. The political class may not see it coming, but the giant is stirring — slowly but surely. Call it the Gen-Z revolt, call it the tribal revolt — but it is coming.”
