ENCOURAGING AND SUPPORTING EMERGING YOUTH LEADERSHIP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 000767

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KE

SUBJECT: ENCOURAGING AND SUPPORTING EMERGING YOUTH LEADERSHIP


1. (U) Summary. At a time of ferment in Kenya, when many observers
are focused primarily on problems within the coalition government,
new youth leaders are emerging who are pressing peacefully for
change. They are cooperating across ethnic lines, and coordinating
with civil society and religious leaders. They are focused on ending
ethnic-based politics, promoting reconciliation, and implementation
of the reform agenda. Their ultimate objective is the emergence of
alternative political leadership. The vested interests are resisting
this emerging leadership. We are working to encourage and support
this emerging youth leadership, which is a positive and promising
development. End summary.


2. (U) New youth leaders are emerging to mobilize young people around
themes of rejecting negative ethnic politics and promoting reform in
order to end the culture of impunity. These leaders are largely
non-political. Through meetings, attendance at their forums, and
direct assistance we are encouraging and helping facilitate the
emergence of these new leaders. This message reports on our
engagement with several groups. Septel will recommend additional
steps which could be undertaken with additional resources.


3. (SBU) In late March the Ambassador, Mission political officers,
and the head of USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives met with
three of the main emerging groups: Kikuyus for Change, the Nyanza
Youth Coalition, and Citizens Assembly of Rift Valley. The groups
were aware of each other, but the meeting was the first time that
they had come together in a systematic way. The discussion made
clear that they are all focused on "how to detribalize the country,"
holding coalition leaders accountable to carry out reforms, helping
to empower youth economically and politically, and creating a
"national platform" to give the voice of Kenyan youth its proper
impact on national affairs. They admitted that young people in Kenya
today are in many respects as ethnically-centered as their parents.
High unemployment, wanting someone else to blame for your troubles,
and exploitation by ethnically-based politicians are largely
responsible for this situation. The groups share a sense of urgency,
and emphasized their view that "time is running out," since if
reforms are not carried out within the next twelve months or so, the
opportunity to do so will be lost with the approaching of the 2012
elections. As a result, Kenya will then experience a much greater
crisis. For example, the leader of Kikuyus for Change said that
there is a widespread view in Central Province, the Kikuyu heartland,
that Kikuyus emerged as too weak during the crisis last year; people
are arming and already preparing for the next anticipated conflict.
The leader of Citizens Assembly, based in Rift Valley, the Kalenjin
heartland which was the epicenter of violence last year when Kikuyus
living there were attacked, said that people there are also arming in
anticipation of the next conflict. The same situation exists in
Nyanza.


4. (U) The youth leaders want to build "alternative youth
leadership." They realize how hard this is in the face of vested
political interests that seek to disrupt any such activity, but they
believe that there is emerging appreciation among youth on the need
for such leadership in order to make their voices heard. Many youth
realize that they were manipulated by politicians to carry out
violence last year and do not want to be exploited again.


5. (SBU) Specifically, Kikuyus for Change is under pressure from the
Kikuyu hardliners in the government and Parliament, some of whom have
sought to compromise the movement through offers of funding.
Citizens Assembly and the Nyanza Youth Coalition are experiencing
similar pressures. The Nyanza Youth Coalition pointed out, for
example, that Prime Minister Odinga exerts near monolithic political
leadership in Nyanza and does not want to see the emergence of
alternatives. The three organizations are working at the grassroots
level to engage youth, elders, religious leaders, and others. Their
goal is to mobilize youth through civic education and empowerment,
eventually leading to emergence of alternative youth leadership at
the national level. While they acknowledged that this is necessarily
a complex and lengthy process, they reiterated the sense of urgency
they feel. They maintained that youth all across the country are
asking the right questions and that alternative national leadership
could emerge more quickly than anyone expects.


6. (SBU) USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives is already
supporting the efforts of the Nyanza Youth Coalition to mobilize and
educate youth, and to exert pressure for political accountability.
Kikuyus for Change have submitted proposals for similar support, as
has Citizens Assembly, and we will endeavor to be supportive.


7. (U) The Ambassador strongly encouraged these efforts to promote
youth leadership and expressed willingness to participate in their
events in an effort to raise their profile. On April 8 the
Ambassador attended public and private forums organized by Citizens
Assembly in Nakuru in Rift Valley. The event was well-organized, as

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the head of Citizens Assembly coordinated closely with the District
Commissioner, elders, war veterans, religious leaders, and the
Administrative Police. The day started with a public ceremony and
forum which was attended by several thousand Kalenjins and Kikuyus.
Peace torches were lit. The ceremony was the first time that the two
communities had met since the violence last year. Local officials,
the police, and others offered a united message on the need for peace
and reconciliation. Reflecting the objective to work across ethnic
lines, the leader of Kikuyus for Change spoke as well. The
Ambassador spoke at length on the need to foster youth leadership, on
peace and reconciliation, on the negative impact of ethnic politics,
and on the importance of implementation of the reform agenda.


8. (U) The Ambassador then met with 30 youth leaders at a private
forum sponsored by Citizens Assembly at Egerton University. At the
invitation of Citizens Assembly, the Administrative Police and
District Commissioner attended the forum and appeared remarkably open
to constructive criticism. The leader of Citizens Assembly described
the Administrative Police chief, who is pursuing an online masters
degree, as very enlightened and committed to reconciliation and
respect for human rights. The tone of the meeting was evident when
the feisty female leader of Citizens Assembly jocularly but pointedly
told the Administrative Police chief that she had invited him so that
"you won't tear gas us and shoot at us the next time we demonstrate,
since you know us now." The youth leaders at the forum represented
an array of Rift Valley grassroots youth organizations. A USAID
representative explained assistance we are providing in Rift Valley
to promote reconciliation and accountability, including through
support to local violence prevention and peace committee programs.


9. (SBU) We are staying in close touch with Kikuyus for Change,
Citizens Assembly, and the Nyanza Youth Coalition to support their
activities and to encourage them to maintain momentum. These
organizations represent important emerging youth leadership, but
there are many others not as well organized or as astute which are
emerging across the country. We are working to reach out as broadly
as possible to emerging youth leadership and will help play a
catalytic role in bringing youth leaders into contact with one
another. The strong political organizations that the existing
political class and vested interests have, their access to large
amounts of money through corruption, the culture of impunity which
enables the police and others to intimidate, and the deep-rooted
nature of ethnic sentiments pose an enormous challenge to the efforts
of emerging youth leaders. However, their task is not impossible.
The way in which ordinary Kenyans, including youth, eventually spoke
out across ethnic and political lines last year to press for an end
to the crisis demonstrates the potential for Kenyans to pull together
to advance national interests. Young people are increasingly
questioning the status quo, and the pressure that civil society,
religious leaders, the private sector, and media are exerting for
reform is encouraging that process.


10. (SBU) One small example demonstrates the extent to which the
political class is concerned about this emerging youth leadership. A
Member of Parliament showed up at the Nakuru public forum, crashing
it since he was not invited. He insisted on speaking briefly, but he
was clearly uncomfortable not being the focus of attention and
complained that the Citizens Assembly should have given him advance
notice of the event. The Ambassador expressed strong support for
Citizens Assembly, noting that the forum was intended as a platform
for the Kenyan people to speak, and not as a political event. The
Ambassador pointed out that he normally takes questions from Kenyans
at town hall meetings, and suggested that Members of Parliament do so
as well (they rarely do, since political gatherings are set-piece
affairs at which they speak and depart).


11. (U) The Nakuru forum was covered by the media. The media,
preoccupied with the daily wrangles within the coalition government,
has yet to pick up on this important story of the emergence of
alternative youth leadership. We are encouraging the media to focus
on this story, and the Ambassador will participate in a number of
other forums these and other groups will be convening to demonstrate
support and to raise their profile.


12. (SBU) The media may be moving toward promoting the kind of
concerted message that they delivered last year when they came
together under the banner of "save our beloved country." On April 12
the Nation, one of the two leading dailies, ran an extensive story on
a conference that 2,000 secondary school students held in Nairobi.
"Secondary school student leaders have put the country's top
leadership to shame by holding a successful national conference days
after a small team of PNU and ODM negotiators failed to hold a
crucial meeting on the state of the coalition government," the Nation
reported. The five day meeting, the paper noted, gave a lesson to
the coalition leaders on how to build consensus and find solutions to
corruption and other problems. Student leaders spoke on the need to

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"shun tribalism," and tackle national issues. The students,
according to the Nation, told Kibaki and Odinga to "shape up or face
a revolution at the next elections."


13. (SBU) If encouraged, supported, and given a higher profile, we
should not underestimate the potential for youth leadership to emerge
relatively quickly. The young people who are asking questions now
will be voters in 2012 and may well have more of an impact on the
political process than anyone at this point expects.

RANNEBERGER