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One sign of the looming class war that most stakeholders did not pick up on was that most of last year’s (2007) political campaign rallies were held on working days, but were massively attended. This shows that there are many youths who are idle and unemployed, and they pose a serious threat to the internal security of any country. Dr. Mulindi says that “we will never have peace unless we address the problems of the underclass”. Then came the disputed elections and the result of the post-polls violence was the internally displaced people.
The violence is the most serious thing that has happened to Kenya’s population as a whole since independence. The worry in different quarters is that the Internally Displaced Persons will not forgive the perpetrators and that their frustrations at being flung into the underclass so suddenly might push them into the battlefront of the class war. There were reports that militia groups were having a field day recruiting youths in the camps of the displaced. According to Dr. Elijah Agevi, who is coordinating the National Youth Violence Prevention Campaign, an analysis of the intensity of the post-election violence reveals a worrying correlation between violence, the youth and the lack of opportunities. He is also concerned that a simple trigger can bring forth spontaneous violence that might take on the dimensions of a class conflict.
We have a serious unemployment problem and this has immense ramifications among the youth. As the security forces try to deal with the symptoms of this problem by shooting to kill and brutally arresting youths who just fill up our prisons, they essentially create hardcore criminals. Actually addressing the root causes of this problem is a far more viable approach. The Ministry of Youth has come up with a Youth Employment Marshall Plan (November 2007), which seeks to promote the successful transition of youths from school to work and, thereby, to contribute to economic development. Most importantly, the Marshall Plan is expected to “greatly reduce the incidence of social problems as youth unemployment is essentially a time bomb”.
Dr. Mulindi, who has extensively been involved in issues concerning the youth, and is also the Chairperson of AFC Leopards, says that sports, when used as an entry point, can help fight drug abuse, HIV/ AIDS and teenage pregnancy. Football, for example, is a labour intensive sport and has the potential to directly employ over 2 million youth countrywide. Thus, there couldn’t have been a better gift to the youth than the merging of the Ministries of Youth and Sports. The task of the new Ministry is to make sports an economically viable option for the youth. Kenya is in the world headlines every week thanks to athletics, so the new Ministry should view the vigorous development of athletics countrywide as a priority. We can have local marathons in almost every town in the country and invite local and international sponsors. There is already a vote of confidence in Kenyan sports following the airing of the Kenya Premier League on a paid TV network.
I may not have all the answers to this quandary nor have I comprehensively expressed the views and frustrations of the youth, despite being one of them. And so I propose further research into the looming class war, so that we can better understand it and hopefully help our youth break out of the cycle. The research will involve a countrywide survey to collect views, opinions and recommendations from youth respondents and other relevant stakeholders on how we can address this problem. The research will yield a report that will be presented to the Government of Kenya for immediate and expeditious action to avert the worst case scenario of a class war.
The writer is a member of the Kenya Association of Photographers, Illustrators and Designers (KAPIDE). He can be reached on bernardmuhia2000@gmail.com .
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Bernard Muhia
I believe firmly in the freedom and space for expression. That is what I am trying to achieve with Fern Magazine. The magazine publishes articles from students in journalism clubs in high school. It is online at www.fernmagazine.com The magazine can be downloaded thus ensuring that rural schools in Kenya that lack an internet connection also have a chance to access it.
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Comments
hi david mbitu | Jun 29th, 2008
Nice article, you have hit the nail at the head.So much have to be done and we must have Strategies and policies to give the youths a better life. All the best on your research.
CONGRATZ Hafiidhaturrahmah | Oct 4th, 2008
dear Bernard
nice to rad ur article. It make me remember HOTEL RWANDA movie. I imagine the same situation happened in Kenya with that movie.
Thx for sharing and open my eyes for this WAR.
^Keep writing boy
u are good writer
wait ur next article okey...
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