Former NFL star and renowned American motivational speaker Rickey Allen Bolden has delivered a bold and candid message to Kenya’s leadership.
Speaking on Wednesday, May 28, during the National Prayer Breakfast at Safari Park Hotel Nairobi, Bolden said that Kenya’s young generation felt disrespected and ignored by the country’s leadership.
In his keynote address, Bolden specifically implored President William Ruto and other national leaders present to take a back seat and start listening to Gen Zs, and try to tackle their grievances.
“Gen Z’s are no longer children. They have grown up and are smarter than us. We must treat them as adults,” a passionate Bolden said. He further went on, ” I pray that adults apologize to the Gen Z’s.”
Bolden’s remarks come after a tumultuous period in Kenya’s history where Gen-Z led protests demanding for governance accountability climaxed with demonstrators storming Parliament building. The ripple effect that followed saw police officers blamed for using excessive force on unarmed protestors.
The anti-government protests also saw President Ruto make an about-turn, sacking his entire Cabinet, and re-constituting his government. Furthermore, human rights groups started blaming authorities of orchestrating a fierce crackdown against government critics, with abductions, extra-judicial killings blamed on the Kenya Kwanza Administration.
Bolden, in his remarks, called upon President Ruto to start initiating the process of reconciling with the youth.
“We talk about rebuilding relationships, We will be beautiful. If only leaders would stand up and say that We are sorry that We shut down the internet and We know it’s your primary source of communication.”
Bolden draws on his experience as a father of five, emphasizing that Gen Z no longer belongs to the children’s bracket but are informed adults with a quest for respect and inclusion in the government. He further challenged the leaders to come out and apologize to the generation owing to the past painful events, which he termed as traumatising.
His message resonated with the event’s theme, ” Rise and Build” from the book of Isaiah 60:1, seeking inclusiveness and generational repair that fosters unity and accountability in every task.
