An Arrogant Police Force: The Truth of Gen Z Protests

Ongoing peaceful demonstrations by young people in the country to persuade their leaders to down the proposed finance bill have exposed the arrogance of government and security agencies.

Yesterday we witnessed ugly scenes as police officers indiscriminately arrested peaceful generation Z protestors who were marching to parliament building to express their displeasure in the proposals to increase taxes on basic commodities.

The new tax revolt cannot be stopped by police unleashing ruthless force on unarmed youth. The teargas being fired at these young demonstrators will only make them more resilient and motivated to continue with their course to have their voices heard.

The right to picketing and to hold peaceful demonstrations is well anchored in the 2010 constitution, and its importance should not be underrated. Police officers seen arresting peaceful demonstrators should face the full force of the law for denying this young people their constitutional right.

We are dealing with a young generation of passionate, energetic and enthusiastic individuals. They are well aware of their rights and very educated. While activism in the country has been frowned on by government for a long time, it is a delicate part of the checks and balances for government.

Let the voices of this young people be heard and let government stop using security agencies to deny citizens their rights. All in all government now understands that everyone is willing to contribute to this tax revolt and that life has become unbearable.