Say ‘no’ to violence, youths told

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 12:02:47 +0000

By ANNIE ZULU

POLITICIANS should desist from manipulating young people by using them as tools of violence for their selfish motives, Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) president Andrew Ntewewe has said.

Mr Ntewewe said youths had become more vulnerable to manipulation by politicians following the current political tension in the country.

He told the Daily Nation in an interview yesterday that it was sad that some politicians were taking advantage of the young people’s vulnerability and inciting them to engage in violent activities.

He said politicians were using youths as tools to fight their opponents, a situation he said was unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

Mr Ntewewe said it was unfortunate that politicians were luring youths into violence at the expense of telling them about real issues.

“The constant use of younger people by the old generation of politicians is very annoying and must be stopped. Politicians should stop this trend of using youths as tools of violence each time they want to get back at their opponents.

“The same politicians mean no good for the youths, all they do is just use them and dump them; if they are really genuine politicians instead of using youths to carry out acts of violence for them, they can help Government in addressing youth unemployment in the country and also come up with empowerment programs to improve their livelihood,” he said.

And Mr Ntewewe has advised young people to be wary of politicians who would use them to perpetuate violence acts for selfish gain.

He said youths should refuse to be used as tools of violence, saying that the same politicians will not be there for them when the law visits them.

“Enough is enough and it’s time that youths said ‘no’ to this trap. Instead of allowing politicians to use them, young people should demand that politicians help them with initiatives to better their lives,” Mr Ntewewe said.