Can youth break Kenya's politics-as-usual cycle?

Gen Z protesters chant along Moi Avenue during the first anniversary of the Gen Z protests in Nairobi on June 25, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Kenya’s Gen Z have proved they can shake the political establishment. The harder test is whether they can turn that power into votes, win nominations, finance credible candidates and influence who governs after the August 10, 2027 election.

The 2024 protests against the Finance Bill united young people around a powerful rejection of the political status quo. Declaring themselves tribeless, partyless and leaderless, they mobilised across ethnic and political lines, forced President William Ruto to withdraw the Bill and put accountability at the centre of national debate.