Mumias East Member of Parliament (MP) Peter Salasya has commended Kenya’s Gen Z for reigniting the country’s long-standing struggle for justice, equality, and accountability.

In a moving statement released following the Saba Saba commemorations on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, the youthful MP drew bold historical parallels between the current youth-led protests and the foundational battles that have shaped Kenya’s political landscape.

Salasya began by revisiting the legacy of Harry Thuku, one of Kenya’s earliest anti-colonial activists, who in the 1930s led resistance against British land seizure and oppression—ultimately being arrested during the infamous Thuku Riots. According to Salasya, that moment sparked a fire that has never been extinguished.

He traced the lineage of defiance through Kenya’s independence movement of the 1960s, citing key figures like Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who led the country to freedom, only for post-colonial politics to devolve into authoritarianism and tribal divisions.

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Peter Salasya statement// X Screengrab
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Salasya went on to reference the pro-democracy wave of the 1990s, during which reformists like Mwai Kibaki, Kenneth Matiba, and Raila Odinga pushed back against Daniel Moi’s one-party regime, achieving the reintroduction of multiparty democracy in 1991.

Today, Salasya said, it is the Gen Z generation that has taken up the mantle. Their protests, he emphasized, are not acts of rebellion, but a profound call for a new Kenya—one that honors the dignity of every citizen.

“This youth-led uprising is not mere dissent,” he wrote, “It is a transformative call for jobs, integrity in public service, equitable resource allocation, and a new social contract anchored in justice, inclusion, and transparency.”

Salasya’s remarks come amid ongoing demonstrations where Kenya’s youth have taken to the streets, demanding economic opportunity, political reform, and an end to systemic neglect.

Their efforts, he said, are part of a 90-year journey—and the next chapter in Kenya’s fight for true liberation.