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Tanzania President Samia Suluhu and President William Ruto during a two-day state visit in Dodoma. [PCS]
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan recently urged her government and the Kenyan government to cane the youth (wapige mikwaju hao vijana) should they dare to protest under “the pretext” of democracy. In her view, young people neither understand democracy nor practice it with the requisite political discipline.
The origin of Suluhu’s disappointment with the youth is well known. Just last year, young Tanzanians staged protests against a general election process they perceived as compromised. Their Kenyan counterparts joined the discourse, agitating against what they considered the political manipulation of a well-understood democratic process.
Similarly in Kenya, Generation Z staged nationwide protests 2024 and 2025 over a range of issues, including a punitive 2024/25 Finance Bill, unemployment, and the high cost of living.
