Ms. Suluhu who had hosted President Ruto from Monday to Tuesday, in a joint session, criticized a wave of activism that has been spreading across East Africa, referring to Gen Z as ill-mannered youth who deserve punishment.
“We were discussing how to deal with these unruly children I don’t know what they call themselves. They claim to be East Africans and wherever they go, they fight for democracy, causing chaos, burning things, and disturbing their governments,” said President Suluhu.
“I told Ruto we must stand firm on this issue regarding these undisciplined youths. We should not discriminate between Tanzanians or Kenyans—if they come to my country, I will cane them; if they go to yours, cane them so they can behave,” she added.
Ms. Suluhu said young people should be reminded about respect for leadership, arguing that the democracy they are fighting for is different from that in European nations.
“That way we will build a community that is respectful and upright. Democracy should not corrupt our traditions or customs; our democracy has no fixed formula. I am telling my colleague we must stand firm in protecting our traditions,” she added.
Her remarks comes at a time when the previous protests had sparked debate on whether the two governments respect human rights and democracy.
Kenya witnessed intense Gen Z protests in June 2024 against the Finance Bill at the time, which included many proposals to increase taxes.
While Tanzania witnessed protests during election in October last year.
Additionally, international observers questioned the results, saying the election failed to meet international standards of transparency.
In that case, her remarks sparked outrage on social media in Kenya, especially since the country is about 14 months away from its next general election.
Young people have vowed to use their numbers to influence the outcome of that election.
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