The youths' drive for change means things will never be the same

Youth protesting in Nairobi on June 20, 2024, against the Finance Bill 2024. [Denis Kibuchi, Standard]

Revolutions are often spearheaded by the youth. Older generations, having built their lives over the years, tend to be more conservative, fearing the loss of what they have achieved and thus respecting authority. In contrast, the youth have little to lose and everything to gain. As one youth put it when I mentioned that the country could burn: "At least we shall warm ourselves by the fire and build a better country from the ashes, free from all the mess you guys have put us in!" I had no answer to that.

Our parents' generation was beaten into submission by colonialists, carrying those scars for life and rarely ever talking about that period up to now. Our generation was traumatized by the Moi regime and saw firsthand the dire consequences of questioning power: detention without trial, trumped-up criminal charges, and the Nyayo torture chambers. But Generation Z has grown up in a time of freedom, unburdened by such trauma.