In a press conference at his Wamunyoro residence earlier today, impeached former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua urged Kenyans, especially the youth, to “keep off the streets, towns, and cities, and stay at home” on June 25. He claimed the government had a sinister plan to infiltrate the Gen Z commemoration with goons to provoke violence and discredit the opposition.
The response from the youth he claims to represent was swift, dismissive, and brutal.
Across social media, young Kenyans made their position crystal clear.
“Gachagua thinks June 25th Demonstration is about him?? Participants in these demos don’t take directions from you @rigathi or any other politician. You don’t get to tell people when to or not to demonstrate.”
Others went further, calling him a coward and reminding him of his record as Deputy President when the government he served authorised force against unarmed protesters in 2024. Many recalled his infamous remark that young people should not expect to be “kissed by police” during demonstrations.
This episode perfectly illustrates Gachagua’s deepening irrelevance. Constitutionally barred from holding any public office, he continues to behave as if he still commands authority over the streets. The June 25 commemorations were deliberately designed as a leaderless, politician-free movement. By issuing orders even framed as protective advice Gachagua has once again tried to insert himself into a moment that explicitly rejects oldguard control and political ownership.
The youth are not buying it. They remember who sat in government when their colleagues were killed, abducted, and brutalised last year. They see through the opportunism of a fallen politician desperate for relevance after repeated rejection at the ballot, in court, and now on the streets.
Rigathi Gachagua does not speak for Gen Z. He does not own their pain or their fight. June 25 belongs to the memory of those lost and to a new generation demanding justice on their own terms not on the instructions of a disgraced former leader.
The message from Kenya’s youth is loud and clear: stay in your lane. The con has run its course.
