By Musa Maridhawa
From the acrid scent of tear gas over Nairobi’s CBD to the defiant chants echoing through city streets, a disruption of its kind seems to be gripping our motherland. The silent anguish is borne by hoteliers watching bookings vanish, safari guides idled and curio shop owners losing sales causing many livelihoods to wither under the shadow of chaos. While the frustration driving our youth may be traced to undeniable grievances, the path chosen by some who needlessly embrace nihilistic despair and the destructive tactics of anarchists threatens to consume the very future they seek to build.
Unrestrained chaos, even when born of just causes, can inflict wounds deeper than the injustices it protests. In the unfolding circumstances, Kenya’s vital tourism sector stands as the most immediate fragile casualty.
But all is not lost if we summon enough courage to visit history. It is true that youth dissent is humanity’s recurring fever. The nihilists of 19th century Russia, rejecting all tradition; the students of 1968 Paris, railing against ossified power, the voices of #EndSARS in Nigeria and #FeesMustFall in South Africa all resonate with the core frustrations bedevilling Kenya’s youth today. Ours is a generation perceiving a broken social contract, a system rigged against them and on the whole, an existential absurdity.
Such a sense of disillusionment, whether emanating from real or perceived grievance if amplified relentlessly by online echo chambers feeding on apocalypse memes can easily morph into a dangerous nihilism. Indeed, this mind-set, while understandable in its despair, is the perfect fertile ground on which anarchists sow seeds of destruction, promising catharsis through chaos but delivering only ashes.
When anarchy rules, tourism, the lifeblood of many livelihoods in Kenya suffers irreparably. Kenya’s tourism is a heartbeat pulsing through countless communities and contributing significantly to our national coffers. While 10% of our GDP is substantial, the true figure – encompassing the vast informal sector is far greater. This sector represents unbound potential, a golden goose capable of funding the very development and opportunities our youth crave. Yet, it is uniquely vulnerable.
Images of burning tyres, blocked highways, and violent clashes are broadcast globally within minutes while it happens. Travel advisories, once issued, cast a long shadow that haunts our economy for as long as memory persists. Tour operators reroute clients, conferences are cancelled and would-be visitors choose alternative destinations.
The millions lost daily become meals removed from tables, school fees unpaid, dreams deferred for the guide, the curio shop owner and farmers supplying lodges. Destroying tourism in the name of protest is like burning your own granary to protest a famine.
The descent into chaos, the barricades, the looting disguised as protest, the wanton destruction of public and private property is the wrong way to express grievance. In our case, it has become the triumph of the anarchists who thrive in disorder. It replaces the powerful, focused message of a generation demanding change with a spectacle of lawlessness that alienates potential allies while terrifying the ordinary citizen. It also provides the state with justification for heavy-handed repression.
History is littered with movements where noble aims were drowned in the vortex of violence they unleashed. The immediate “cost” paid by the powerful is often dwarfed by the long-term devastation inflicted upon the nation’s social fabric, economy, and international standing. Nihilism whispers that destruction is a valid end in itself. In reality, however, its screams only deepen the hole we seek to escape from.
Young Kenyans, your energy, your passion, your demand for a better future is valid and essential too. Your voice should be heard. But hear this wisdom from history and economic reality – chaos is not a strategy. It is surrender. It surrenders the moral high ground. It surrenders the support of the silent majority who yearn for stability and most devastatingly, it surrenders the very engine, such as tourism that can fund the Kenya we all deserve.
Kenya possesses an enduring magic and wonder in its landscapes, its wildlife, and its resilient spirit that the world desires. But tourism will only blossom when stability reigns. The truth is that every day of chaos deepens the wound, prolongs recovery, and steals opportunity from the very generation protesting.
To the youth of Kenya, your power is immense. Do not let it be hijacked by the siren song of nihilism and the agents of anarchy who offer only destruction. Channel your righteous anger into the disciplined, relentless pursuit of a better Kenya. The future is yours to shape, but only if you choose to preserve the ground upon which to build it.
Maridhawa is a Kilifi-based ethnographer
