Let reason prevail over mass action

The country remains tense over the planned mass action called by Azimio leaders and there are fears this could escalate depending on how the police manage the unfolding events.

However, it is important to call for restraint from all sides to ensure the protests do not degenerate into violence, which will be counterproductive at many levels, starting with the personal safety of the protesters on the one hand, and risks to the economy on the other.

And whereas the Constitution provides for peaceful demonstrations to demand government to act in one way or the other, there is also need to ensure this does not become the way of life otherwise economic activities will be severely hampered especially if the protests turn into a security situation. Sectors such as tourism are sensitive to unrest and given the country is battling a recession, any action that threatens the recovery journey will have huge impact on livelihoods, a scenario that political leaders from both divides ought to be sensitive to.

Every five years, economy tanks, largely because of election and post-election activities. This is counterproductive in the long term because it makes the economic climate unpredictable and also hurts peace and prosperity. It is, therefore, critical that Kenya finds a way to halt this cycle for the benefit of all and to ensure that the work done to build the economy is not reversed every so often due to political differences. Bearing in mind that every action begets a reaction, leaders ought to exercise caution and allow the voices of reason to guide the next course of action. The issues that need to be addressed can be canvassed in other ways so that citizens are not used as pawns in the political chess played by politicians.

The politicians should also be reminded that children are meant to resume school today after their mid-term break. Any action, or reaction, that interferes with the school calendar, should be discouraged to ensure that the sector continues on the path to normalisation, and to give authorities there time and space to address the serious challenges arising from the new system of education.

The operating word, no matter what happens today, ought to be “caution” and all leaders ought to feel duty bound to make reason prevail by putting the interests of the country first to ensure that we do not take two steps back in the economic recovery journey.