Gen Z's demands remain unmet as 2027 election nears
National
By
Brian Lagat
| Oct 19, 2026
Scenes during Gen Z June 25, 2025 protests. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]
The question confronting Kenya’s young people ahead of the 2027 election is no longer whether they can force the country to listen. It is whether the political system can answer the demands that drove them into the streets.
In 2024, Gen Z-led protests against the Finance Bill shook the political establishment and forced President William Ruto to withdraw the legislation after saying he had heard public concerns. Young people mobilised across party and ethnic lines, using social media to organise, share information and challenge decisions made in their name.
Two years after the protests, young Kenyans are still confronting questions about the cost of education, insecure employment, the survival of small businesses, insecurity and their place in political decision-making.
For Byron Rono, a student at Kabarak University, some families, including parents who depend on daily earnings from boda boda businesses, struggle to meet university fees under the student-centred funding model. He cites cases in which household contributions can reach Sh60,000 per semester.
For families balancing rent, food and business expenses, such a bill can put a university education beyond reach.
The funding model is intended to direct greater support towards students from financially disadvantaged households. But concerns about household assessments, student contributions and the timing of disbursements have left some families uncertain about how they will meet the cost of education.
The pressure has been compounded by the nationwide strike by public university staff, which began after unions rejected the Government’s offer in negotiations over the 2025–2029 collective bargaining agreement. Talks again faltered after unions rejected a proposed Sh12 billion offer. By October 15, more than 700,000 students were reported to be affected by disruptions across public universities.
“What does that funding mean if it doesn’t translate into fees being cleared and learning continuing without interruption?” he asks.
The uncertainty extends beyond the classroom. Delayed academic calendars can leave students paying for accommodation and daily expenses for longer, while postponing their entry into the labour market.
“The biggest question is this: if we are struggling this much to get an education, what exactly awaits us when we graduate?” he asks.
Wambui Kamau, a communication graduate working in the creative sector, says securing work does not necessarily mean escaping economic insecurity. She describes employment that is poorly paid, demanding and uncertain, and questions whether temporary jobs at affordable housing sites can provide a lasting answer to graduate unemployment.
“Selling temporary jobs as the answer to a generation’s unemployment crisis is taking us for fools,” she says.
Her objection is not to construction work itself, but to presenting short-term employment as a complete solution without explaining what happens when a project ends.
“When the houses are complete, then what?” she asks.
The question exposes a gap between counting jobs and building livelihoods. Construction can provide immediate income, but employment figures alone do not show how long a job lasts, whether wages meet workers’ needs or whether employees can move into more secure work when a project closes.
The Government’s 2022 economic agenda promised to expand employment, affordable housing, credit for small businesses and opportunities in the digital economy. The 2026 Economic Survey reported that employment increased by 822,100 in 2025, with 87.2 per cent of the additional jobs created in the informal sector.
The figures point to employment growth, but do not by themselves establish whether those jobs provide stable incomes, social protection or a reliable route out of poverty.
For young workers, the distinction between having a job and building a future remains central to judging the Government’s record.
Allans Ademba, an activist associated with the Niko Kadi initiative, argues that unemployment, education and healthcare cannot be separated from governance.
“All these things are issues of governance. Unemployment is an issue of governance,” he says.
Young people, Ademba argues, need more than recognition in policy speeches. They need a meaningful role in decisions affecting their lives, including the allocation of public resources and the selection of political leaders.
He wants party manifestos to spell out clear youth priorities and young aspirants to have a fair chance in party primaries. His argument is not that age alone qualifies someone to lead, but that young people who understand the pressures facing their generation need a route into institutions that shape public policy.
Ademba also advocates intergenerational cooperation, with young people contributing their understanding of current challenges while older leaders share institutional experience and resources.
For Alfred Kipkoech, an entrepreneur in Nandi, the test of economic policy is whether a young business owner can survive the cost of doing business and access public opportunities on fair terms.
Kipkoech cites high credit costs, multiple licensing requirements, fees and taxes among the pressures facing small enterprises. He also questions whether youth-support programmes, including the NYOTA fund, and the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities programme are reaching intended beneficiaries fairly.
His concerns require scrutiny against programme records, eligibility rules and beneficiary data. But they point to a broader question: can young entrepreneurs find out what support is available, meet the requirements and compete for public opportunities without political connections?
A fund announced in a speech offers little to an entrepreneur who cannot access it. A procurement policy has limited value if eligible businesses cannot compete on a level playing field.
Kipkoech says taxation will be central to how he assesses candidates in 2027.
“I will base my support on how a particular candidate seeks to lift the burden of overtaxation from young people,” he says.
He also wants transparency, accountability and respect for the rule of law. For small businesses operating on tight margins, predictable rules matter. Owners need to know what they owe, which licences they require and whether changes in policy will undermine plans they have already made.
In Samburu, Jonathan Lenakukuya says the promise of peace remains unfulfilled in communities where insecurity threatens livelihoods and access to education and employment is limited.
“We do not see peace anymore. I mean, we do not see peace at all in Samburu,” he says.
Livestock is an economic lifeline for pastoralist families, providing income for daily needs and school fees. Losing animals can wipe out household savings and make it harder to keep children in school.
The tensions came into focus after a security operation in Samburu East on September 19, when residents alleged that security officers killed hundreds of animals during an operation linked to efforts to tackle banditry and recover stolen livestock. The allegations require a response from the relevant security agencies and independent verification.
Lenakukuya sees the claims as a painful contradiction in the State’s duty to protect citizens.
“Because if we are Kenyans, what we know is that the government is supposed to protect us,” he says. “But now, instead of coming to look for solutions to the problems we face as pastoralists, they come and kill our livestock.”
He says access to education remains limited in his area because of a shortage of schools, while those who complete their studies face uncertain employment prospects.
“And even for those who have gone to school, there are no jobs,” he says.
His demand is for leaders to deliver basic services and recognise the needs of remote communities.
“I just want development,” he says. “Right now, where I have come from, there is no development. We do not even know what development means.”
The range of concerns illustrates why political analyst Javas Bigambo warns against treating Gen Z as a single political bloc.
“The 2024 protests created a powerful moment of shared resistance, but young people have different economic interests and political loyalties. Some support the Government, others favour opposition leaders, while some remain undecided or disengaged from electoral politics,” he argued.
That diversity does not erase the impact of the protests. They pushed taxation, public spending and government accountability to the centre of national debate. The question now is whether those demands can shape political choices and remain part of public scrutiny after the election.
Voter registration is one part of that process, but registration alone does not guarantee turnout, informed choices, fair access to party nominations or influence over elected leaders. The scale and age profile of new registrations must be established through verified IEBC data rather than assumed from the prominence of youth-led protests.
Article 100 of the Constitution requires Parliament to enact legislation to promote the representation of marginalised groups, including youth. Meaningful inclusion, however, goes beyond placing young faces on campaign posters. It requires a voice in decision-making and the ability to hold elected leaders to their promises.
Kenya’s young people do not share a single political identity, nor do they face identical problems. Their experiences range from university fees and precarious work to the cost of running a business and the struggle to secure basic services in areas affected by insecurity.
What connects these concerns is a demand for answers that can be tested against delivery. As the 2027 election approaches, the challenge for political leaders is not simply to court young voters, but to explain what they will do, how they will pay for it and how citizens can hold them accountable.
The protests showed that young Kenyans can make themselves heard. The next test is whether their questions will shape the choices made at the ballot box—and what happens after the votes are counted.