By TEE NGUGI

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What philosophy informed Finance Bill 2024? The tax proposals in the Bill were extremely punitive, callously insensitive and even absurdly senseless.

The proposals could only have been conceived by minds that viewed citizens merely as sources of revenue.

The citizens’ social conditions or even humanity was not factored in the taxation equations.

Citizens were seen as instruments rather than as people. They were mere factors of revenue collection.

The angry countrywide protests against the Bill were citizens saying, “Hey, wait a minute, we are human, not mere sources of revenue to fund opulent lifestyles of state officials”.

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The Gen-Z have since moved beyond reclaiming their humanity to demanding a fundamental reassessment of the values and institutions on which the Kenyan parasitic state is founded.

They started with “occupy parliament”, because parliament had long since lost its constitutional role of checking the executive.

Parliament, as demonstrated by its stance on the Finance Bill, no longer represented the interests of the people, but rather the interests of the president.

Then Gen-Z called for “occupation” of the judiciary, because this arm of government had often failed to uphold the principle of “equity before the law”, overzealously prosecuting chicken thieves while letting wealthy politicians off the hook for large scale theft, violence and even murder.

The next institution to be “occupied” was the church. Unlike in the 1990s, the church has become the propaganda arm of the State.

It sanitises and supports the parasitic State. The churches and self-baptised ‘men of God’ have no qualms receiving huge amounts of money from politicians, even from those whose source of wealth is thievery.

In return, like the medieval priests who would sell blessings to the poor, the churchmen, smiling demurely in exaggerated piety, invite the politicians to address the congregants, and then anoint them, while declaring that their leadership positions are God-given.

There is a non-physical space the Gen-Z and each one of us needs to “occupy”. This is the cultural and language space.

We have never adapted our culture and language to today’s democratic society.

In pre-colonial times, we had to prostrate ourselves before chiefs and kings.

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In colonial times, we bowed before white masters, saying, “Yes sir, yes sir, or “yes, baas” as in apartheid South Africa.

In the post-colonial period, we bow, self-efface and genuflect before politicians, bishops and rich people.

When addressing a politician, we assume a slave-like physical demeanor, and punctuate every sentence with, “honourable, mheshimiwa, excellency”.

TV talk shows take on a sycophantic character: “our president, our leader, our father…” Will we drop dead for referring to these tin gods as Mr or Ms ?

When I watch journalists interviewing a politician on TV, I’m filled with horror they will prostrate themselves on the ground as the “oracle” pronounces on matters.

Therefore, as the Gen-Z revolution “drains the swamp”, we can all do our part by finally discarding this culture and language of subservience.