By Winnie Kabintie

Dear Kenyan Youth leaders,

You must be all aware that Youth leadership has been touted as the great enabler of tomorrow’s peace, democracy, stability and sustainable development.

In Kenya, we are embracing youth leadership already and the 2013 and 2017 elections have seen more young people elected to office.

While that is a good thing…there is a problem; majority of you have been a great disappointment, you have not or rather are not living upto the promise of youth leadership.

You are supposed to be Visionary leaders and your style of politics should be distinct; Transformational and Empowering but what we have seen is another case of teaching new dogs the old tricks.

If we have elected you, it’s because we believe in you, we believe that you have our interests at heart, that you will work to champion policies and programs that facilitate Positive Social Change because fellow youths, who make up 85 per cent of the country’s population. Will be the beneficiaries.

But look at you…you have gone to bed with the old guards and have sacked up to the routine politics of negative ethnicity, division and lootocracy.

I wish you could borrow a leaf from Senator Johnson Sakaja, who happens to be chair of the Young Parliamentarians Association (KYPA), he should be the benchmark for political mentors.

In a country that falls short of competent leadership, Sakaja has proven that he is a visionary leader and the youths together with the country at large have benefited from his Weight/no pun intended.

The other two leader’s I would wish you also emulate is Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr and Kibra MP Ken Okoth .

Ken Okoth has particularly been lauded for his commitment to uplift education standards in his constituency under the Vision ‘Elimu Kwanza’ while Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, has notably depicted transformational leadership.

Dear Kenyan youth leaders, youth leadership will have no impact if you do not provide a fresh set of leadership; YOU MUST BRING MORE THAN JUST AGE ON THE TABLE!!