Okoa Uchumi slams Ruto’s conditional apologies to Gen Zs

By Muthoni Wainaina

The Okoa Uchumi Campaign lobby group has flatly rejected President William Ruto’s recent conditional apology as an insult to the victims of police killings, enforced disappearances, and economic hardship.

Speaking in response to the president’s statement, “To our children, if there is any misstep, we apologize,” the group argued that the apology sidesteps accountability and fails to acknowledge the government’s direct role in a wave of brutality and repression. “There is no ‘if’ when the evidence is written in the wounds of a nation,” the campaign said.

The group accuses the government of overseeing the killing of more than 60 youth during peaceful protests, the abduction and disappearance of nearly 90 citizens, the intimidation of journalists, and the erosion of civil liberties.

The campaign also cited growing cross-border tensions, blaming the president for failing to defend Kenyan citizens facing mistreatment abroad—including in Tanzania, where he recently issued a diplomatic apology without demanding reciprocal accountability.

The group criticized what it called a state “without conscience,” warning that apologies made during national prayer breakfasts ring hollow without real action. “We are tired of apologies served at prayer breakfasts. Justice must be written into policy, not whispered in prayer,” the statement read.

Economic priorities under fire

Turning to economic matters, the group condemned the proposed 2025 national budget, arguing it reflects skewed priorities that favor elite comfort over public needs.

They highlighted deep cuts to education, health, child services, and contraceptives, while funding for presidential expenditures, surveillance, and security forces has surged.

The campaign warned that the state’s ballooning debt—including KSh 706 billion in pending bills and over KSh 1.9 trillion in interest and principal repayments—represents a form of default in all but name.

The campaign is calling for a national inquiry into extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, independent audits of public debt, investigations into high-level corruption, and the restoration of social sector funding. It also demands the full enforcement of Chapter Six of the Constitution, including lifestyle audits and public vetting of public officials.

Framing their campaign as one rooted in patriotism rather than protest, the group insisted that its demands are not anti-government but pro-Kenya—a Kenya where budgets serve people, justice is not symbolic, and leadership is answerable to the law.