Charlene Ruto shares conciliatory message ahead of Saba Saba Day demos
By Arnold Ngure, July 6, 2025First daughter Charlene Ruto has shared a conciliatory message ahead of the planned Saba Saba Day protests of Monday, July 7,2025.
In a statement on Sunday, July 6, 2025, Charlene urged for a generational reconciliation, even as the she quoted a Bible verse to reinforce her point.
“Malachi 4:6 states, “And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their father”; Generational reconciliation. Do we still have a God believing and God-fearing generation?” she posed.
Policy and reform
The message comes just days after Charlene challenged the youth to turn the protest energy into policy and reform.
In a statement on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, Charlene reflected on her three-year journey of engaging deeply with Kenyan youth, noting that most young people are not driven by destruction or defiance, but by a desire for connection, purpose, and inclusion.
“As I have intentionally met, deeply engaged, and heavily invested in the young people as a collective for the last 3 years, I have quickly learnt that young people are looking for connection, not conflict; they are looking for a platform, not destruction; they are looking for mentorship, not violence; and they definitely want to be part of the solution, not the problem!” she said.
Toxic mob mentality
She further advised against toxic online culture, mob mentality, and performative activism, arguing that these do not amount to genuine unity.
“There is no nation that will ever benefit from encouraging division, be it generational, tribal, or even racial. Peer pressure, mob mentality, hate raids (“Kusalimia watu”), and riots do not qualify as unity,” Charlene observed.
“How do we convert our passion to policy, our ideas to tangible plans, our energy for riots to reform-based engagements, from shouting to constructive dialogue, and intense emotions into patriotism?” she posed.
The protests are expected to proceed amid several pleas from various leaders urging the public to exercise restraint and shun the demos scheduled for Monday, July 7, 2025.
Several shops along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) have reinforced their security systems out of fear that looters could take advantage of the commotion to break in and steal their wares.