SEIZE THE TEAR GAS, SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT!

by Hussein Waiyaki on July 2025

Tear gas and burning of tyres pose a threat to our entire ecosystem.

📅 In Commemoration of World Population Day (July 11) 🌍 And World Nature Conservation Day (July 28)

This piece is a special dedication in honor of two critical global observances:

• World Population Day (July 11), which raises awareness about population issues and their connection to environmental sustainability.

• World Nature Conservation Day (July 28), which focuses on the urgent need to protect and preserve natural resources.

This work reflects on Kenya's current political landscape and the unrest among its people — unrest that has deep and direct ties to climate and environmental injustices.It examines not only the environmental consequences of the current turmoil but also how policy stagnation continues to drag, delay — and in some cases, deny — the environment its rightful share in policymaking, restoration, and conservation.

Gunfire, murders, tear gas, tire burning, kidnappings, DEATH… this has become the identity of Kenya today. Has Kenya turned into a society stripped of intellectual prowess? Will the populace ever learn?

These are the questions I mull over when I read the plethora of articles in the press — where somehow, Kenyans continue to worship contemporary political demagogues.

Well, agreeing to the precept that humans are fallible, imperfect, and prone to mistakes — especially when entrusted with power — it stands to reason that confiding in a system run by humans wielding power is totally absurd.

Common sense, right? Not so fast. “Common sense ain’t so common,” Will Rogers once observed.

Even when it goes against reason, the golden rule, and the non-aggression principle, people are unlikely to question a system they’ve been indoctrinated to believe.

As my good friend and colleague Nimrod once quipped: Do we need moral leaders — or an ethical system?

Kenyan modern-day politicians ascend to power amid a conflict between their own interests and a public yearning for genuine transformation. They find themselves caught in a vast chasm of competing demands, and I deeply believe many grapple with their conscience.

It is no wonder most politicians crumble under this pressure, hastened by the intoxicating nature of power that seduces the average into continuing the same monotonous sing-song that has become addictive — if not boorish. ‘Messiah Complex’ and ‘Martyr Syndrome’, as the good learned Prof. PLO Lumumba calls it.

Why, one may ask? Because we have offered them platforms, often in the public agora, that incentivize them to jettison themselves into higher echelons of power. A game of musical chairs, as Barrack Muluka aptly puts it.

Photo showing protesters burning tires at Kangemi along Waiyaki Way. Photo credit: AP/ Samson Otieno

People are often more prone to believe what they’ve been programmed to believe — whether political or religious, legion, cult, or a blend of both. Breaking free from this conditioning demands a particular kind of courage, one not commonly possessed. Yet this has seemingly emerged within Kenya’s Generation Z — often referred to as Gen Z.

This bravery is born of psychological agony and suffering, often at the cost of losing one's innocence. It must be nurtured and nourished daily. Without it, we revert to apathy or to obsolete forms of resistance.

It requires a distinct and daring type of leadership — one that audaciously checks and balances power structures while teaching others how to do the same. This type of leadership begins by dismantling falsehoods. As the golden cloth dictates: it falls upon the maverick to challenge doctrines they’ve been indoctrinated to believe — especially those invalid under the golden Cosmic Law.

As Kenya endures persistent turmoil — with youth clamoring for change, calling for economic reform, jobs, and better governance — the ruling elite often seem detached from the language of the young. And in this disconnect, our environment stands at a critical juncture, at risk of becoming collateral damage.

Law enforcement has come under fire for deploying excessive tear gas, rubber bullets, and even live ammunition. This creates a ripple effect — contaminating the air we breathe, the land we inhabit, the water we consume, and ultimately, our mental well-being.

We are witnessing the collapse of our ENVIRON-MENTAL spectrum.

I'm not here to lecture on political morality or ethical governance — let’s get concrete.

The uncontrolled use of tear gas and burning of tires releases pollutants that harm the air, soil, and water. The effects reach both human health and ecological integrity.

The severity depends on exposure — but the risks are real. Tear gas is a chemical cocktail linked to:

• Eye irritation, temporary blindness, nerve damage

• Cataracts, hemorrhages, corneal erosion

• Skin issues: itching, redness, blisters

• Respiratory and GI problems: coughing, chest tightness, nausea, vomiting

Scientifically, tear gas often contains chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (CS) — which can persist in the environment, contaminating air, soil, and water. This disrupts biodiversity and ecological balance.

According to the Sierra Club, chlorinated compounds in tear gas can linger in the environment for decades.

Tear gas chemicals include:

• Chloroacetophenone (CN)

• Chloropicrin (PS)

• Bromobenzylcyanide (CA)

• Dibenzoxazepine (CR)

• Other combinations — all harmful, and all capable of long-term contamination.

Meanwhile, burning tires releases:

• Criteria pollutants: particulate matter, SO₂, CO, NOx, VOCs

• Non-criteria pollutants: hydrogen chloride, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals like mercury, vanadium, zinc, cadmium, and nickel

These pollutants affect biodiversity, air quality, and public health — with long-term consequences for our climate.

Kenya must learn. We must stop the tear gas. Stop the tire burning.

This isn’t just a piece of writing. This is a call to action.

We can do better.

Kenya has long prided itself as one of the world’s top tourist destinations — a capital with a national park, a land of diverse cultures, legendary athletes, rare biodiversity, breathtaking sceneries.

This is an outcry for a once-respected land.

LET’S PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT.