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It is now cast in stone. No more god-chosen or church-backed presidents, nor wisdom-deprived elected leaders, starting with the next general election in our beautiful motherland, Kenya.

Without a doubt, we, the youth of this nation, make up the majority; we are 18 million strong! With the 2027 elections beckoning, politicians are now beginning to turn to us for political support because we have the numbers to shape the political landscape and influence the nation’s leadership in 2027 and beyond.

Politicians are seeking the young blood to join their chaotic train and help restore the sanity they long lost in their aimless political parties and outfits. They want to tap into our potential and abilities to gain further mileage from our peers after the god-chosen leaders they relied on failed them. We are projected to form the largest voting bloc in the coming general election, so we are now more valuable to them than ever — especially to the politicians who feel betrayed by their political gods.

For too long, many of us were apolitical. But thanks to the civic education we were exposed to along the way and the torturous upheavals we endured under the Ruto regime, we have truly become activists for ourselves.

Even as the political class anxiously runs around, trying to forge plans with us ahead of the 2027 elections, it’s crucial that we keep a few things in mind to guide us during this period and beyond.

I’m not a political expert, but these are my two cents: To begin with when making political choices, may we never forget the June anti-good governance protests. May we always remember the brave Gen Zs who lost their lives. They constitutionally and fearlessly took to the streets to demand what was rightfully theirs as a people and as a nation. Sadly, their lives were cut short by trigger-happy men in blue.

May we not forget how Denzel Omondi (my beloved friend), Kogi, Rex, Sitati, Kyalo, Kennedy and others were murdered in cold blood. Shockingly, most of our elected leaders remained silent. They turned their backs on us and pushed for punitive laws without a second thought.

Lest we forget, let’s take note of all the wisdom-deprived politicians who chest-thumped right before our eyes and bragged about how we could do nothing to them. Some even struck deals with rogue police officers to arrest and detain us for calling them out over public misconduct. The worst of these are the elected leaders who remained silent when Kenyans were being mistreated. Remember the wise men say “If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you choose to be neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

May we not be tricked into accepting any bitter politicians close to us. They don’t have our interests at heart. All they want to do is seek revenge on their political gods who abandoned them and cosied up to a brutal regime instead of sticking by their side. Be wary of them!

As I wrap up, Okiya Omtatah is — so far  — the man to watch. He remained true. He showed true love for our motherland. He has fought our fights, let’s remember him in 2027. Never side with our traitors!

— The writer is a Sub-Editor with People Daily-