"Hakuna Kazi Mtaani": Frustrated Nakuru East youth demand action on delayed youth jobs programme
Yvonne Matunda, a youth representative in Flamingo Ward notes leaders need to fast track the implementation of Kazi Mtaani in Nakuru East.
Youth from Nakuru East Sub-county took to the streets today, protesting the long-delayed start of the national Kazi Mtaani youth employment program.
Blaming their Member of Parliament, David Gikaria, for the holdup, they say that the inaction has left them jobless and desperate.
According to the Nakuru East youth leader Fred Orieny, over 7,000 names were submitted and approved for the program back in April. Despite this, they have been left waiting while the program has already kicked off in neighboring sub-counties.
Kivumbuni Ward youth representative, Fred Orieny laments over the delay of Kazi Mtaani in Nakuru East on September 23, 2025.
"We submitted our names and it was approved; since then, we have waited for the program to start," Orieny said, speaking outside the Nakuru County Commissioner's office.
Orieny says that they were later told to reduce the number of participants to just 90 people per ward.
"How can you have 90 people from each ward? That is not even 10 percent representation," he lamented.
The youth said the persistent delays have forced some to resort to crime to survive. Yvonne Matunda, another youth leader, noted the desperate situation.
"All we want is food on the table, and this can only happen if we have jobs. Our request to the leaders is for them to address our plight," she says.
This is not the first time the youth have protested the delay; they were in the streets two months ago for the same reason.
The Kazi Mtaani program was announced by President William Ruto during the Madaraka Day celebrations on June 1, 2025, with a promise to roll it out the following week. However, months later, the youth of Nakuru East are still waiting for the jobs to begin, even as their counterparts in other counties are already working.