FROM GOONISM TO DEVELOPMENT: MATIANG’I TEAM URGES YOUTH TO CHOOSE DEVELOPMENT, NOT VIOLENCE. Kitutu Masaba, Kisii.

Leaders from the Linda Matiang’i team on Monday called on young Kenyans to reject “goonism” and instead dedicate their energy to community development, while strongly condemning a recent attack on members of the Linda Mwananchi team.

Speaking during a public engagement in Kitutu Masaba, the team warned that unemployed youth were being deliberately recruited and used to instigate violence and destroy property for the benefit of political interests. They urged the young generation to resist such manipulation and focus on constructive activities that would uplift their communities.

MCA Bouse Mairura criticised the current administration, saying ordinary Kenyans were suffering under the weight of economic hardship. “Sisi watu wa Kenya tunahangaika, ndiyo maana tunasema Kasongo na serikali yake wakae ‘wamtam.’ Watu wetu wa linda mwananchi Homabay walishambuliwa huku magari yakivunjwa na kuharibiwa. Serikali hii inatupeleka kwenye machafuko,” Mairura said.

He accused the government of steering the country toward chaos after supporters who had sought to protect citizens in Homa Bay were attacked and their vehicles vandalised.

Morara Kebaso echoed the concerns, attributing the rise of goon activity to high youth unemployment. “Hii mambo ya goons ni hawa vijana hawana kazi, wanatumiwa vibaya. Jinsi mlivyoona Homa Bay na Nakuru, vijana wanaingizwa kwenye vurugu kwa maslahi ya wengine,” Kebaso stated.

He pointed to recent incidents in Homa Bay and Nakuru as clear examples of how young people were being drawn into violence to serve the agendas of others rather than their own long-term interests.

The Linda Matiang’i team emphasised that the path forward for Kenya’s youth lay in development, not destruction. Leaders stressed that the energy and numbers of young people should be channelled into productive work, innovation and community building instead of being wasted on hired violence.

They described the attack on the Linda Mwananchi team as an unacceptable act that undermined peaceful civic engagement. The speakers called on security agencies and political actors to stop exploiting jobless youth as tools of disruption.

In their address, the team linked the problem of goonism directly to economic frustration among the young. With limited formal employment opportunities, many youths become vulnerable to inducements that lead them into street violence and property damage, the leaders argued.

They urged young people in Kitutu Masaba and across the country to reject such recruitment. “We must choose development over goonism,” the speakers reiterated, calling for a collective shift in mindset that prioritises progress over temporary gains from causing chaos.

The message comes amid rising concerns about political violence and the use of hired groups in different parts of the country. By highlighting the Homa Bay and Nakuru incidents, the Linda Matiang’i team sought to draw attention to what they described as a dangerous pattern of using jobless youth as instruments of intimidation and destruction.

Community members present at the Kitutu Masaba event were encouraged to support initiatives that create opportunities for young people rather than allowing them to be used for political ends. The team maintained that lasting solutions to youth unemployment and insecurity would only come through deliberate focus on development programmes.

As the gathering concluded, the leaders restated their appeal: Kenyan youth must refuse to be tools of violence and instead become agents of positive change in their communities. The choice, they said, is clear—goonism or development.