BY DPCS
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki says the culture of hiring youth to heckle political opponents must end, stressing that young people are a huge resource to advance the country’s development.
Prof. Kindiki said some opposition leaders are exploiting the youth for their own political interests including issuing them handouts to attack their rivals without offering them better sources of livelihoods.
“They give them 100 shillings to heckle their opponents in rallies. They are happy to incite them to attack their rivals. They pay them to insult their opponents on social media. They see them as voting machines. They have absolutely nothing to improve their lives. They are visionless and plan-less,” DP noted.
How many graduated from the Kikuyu NG-CDF vocational training programme?
The DP spoke on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. at Alliance High Grounds, Kikuyu Constituency, Kiambu County when he graced the graduation of 1,880 young people who were sponsored by the Kikuyu NGCDF for vocational training in various fields.
The youth acquired skills in masonry, electrical installation, plumbing, masonry, painting, welding, tiling, catering, cosmetology, barista, CNA caregiving, among others, through the constituency’s fund whose patron is Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwah, who is also the National Assembly Leader of Majority.
“We are totally different from them. We are empowering the young people through intentional and practical programmes. We are working hard to get them employed, to get a source of income for them so as to be important people of our country because it is the only way to ensure our country moves forward,” Prof. Kindiki stated.
Affirming the government’s commitment to creating more job opportunities through deliberate programmes, the DP said it is no longer tenable for visionless politicians to exploit the jobless youth to advance sinister motives.
“The time is up for politicians who only see young people as goons, hecklers, bloggers and voting machines. Going forward is about who has the better vision and plan for employment and job creation for our youth,” he added.
Kenya Kwanza programmes targeting youth
The Deputy President enumerated several programmes rolled out by the government since 2022, geared at employing youth and creating job opportunities both on the ground and online, locally and internationally.
The construction of affordable houses, modern markets and hostels has so far employed 550,000, with a target of 1 million by next year. Those taken in are engineers, quantity surveyors, architects, electricians, masons, plumbers and others crucial for the success of the ongoing national programme.
The Kazi Mtandaoni programme has seen over 300, 000 youth get jobs online with a target of more beneficiaries this year. Meanwhile, the Kazi Majuu initiative has benefitted 540,000 youth who have flown out of the country for jobs overseas.
How many new teachers have been employed in Kenya?
In the Education sector, 100,000 teachers have been employed in the last three years. An additional 3,300 tutors have also been employed in Technical and Vocational Education Training Centres.
The TVET intake has gone up from 297, 000 to 718, 000 since 2022, owing to key policy interventions that have raised interest in the training centres.
This has been achieved through a significant increase in the Ministry of Education’s annual budget, which has gone up from 500 billion shillings in 2022 to 765 billion shillings in 2026.
“We are working hard to ensure our young people get an education and skills to be able to make a better living. Education without skills is not complete. We have enhanced our support for the education sector. We have increased allocation for education, employed more teachers, improved infrastructure,” DP emphasised.
Round two of the NYOTA empowerment programme is also being finalised following the massive success of the initial phase.
