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Uasin Gishu County Governor met representatives of religious leaders and elders on Thursday to deliberate on ways of ensuring the Gen Zs do not continue with the street protests that have caused unprecedented damage of property and loss lives.
The religious leaders led by AIC Bishop Luka Maiyo of the African Inland Church (AIC) expressed heartfelt condolences to those who lost their loved ones.
He said the aftermath of the protests has revealed to them that there is a missing link in the way the children were brought up terming it poor moral upbringing.
The leaders who gave their opinion to Governor Jonathan Chelilim agreed that there is need to offer proper moral guidance embracing values of respect, honesty, empathy, loyalty, and respect for others, which would shape up their behaviour and relations with the public.
“We as residents of Uasin Gishu are saying that God has given us a good cosmopolitan county which is a mega business hub in the region. We need peace, we don’t want a repeat of what we saw in 2007,” he said.
“We need to restore confidence to residents that our peace shall continue as it has been, which will help us do business without fear,” added Governor Chelilim. He hinted that as the municipality is inching closer to a city, they call on investors from various places and assured of peace and security for all the people like the business community and others.
He underscored that the county is endowed with many institutions like education, health and others hence peaceful coexistence was a key ingredient for development. He called on the youth to submit their needs to the elders and the governance of the county so as to deliberate on a peaceful forum to find suitable solutions for their needs.
“And we will continue to engage with our youth so as to understand and find lasting solutions for their needs as we work together in peace and unity to continue our development agenda,” noted Chelilim. Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Uasin Gishu Chapter Chairman Willy Kenei reiterated the need to embrace peace for a secure business environment.
He revealed that the business community lost about Sh500 million during the demonstrations and appealed to the young generation to embrace peace noting that their voice has been heard through amendments to the Finance Bill 2024.
He further said that there is a need for the business community to develop and provide internship programmes to the young generation majority of who are graduates, noting that the reason they were participating in unlawful activities was idleness.