Senator Omogeni backs Gen Z’s push to engineer major shift in 2027
By Kiprono Keileb, July 29, 2025Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogeni has thrown his weight behind the growing Gen Z movement, calling for a shift from tribal-based politics to issue-driven leadership, saying the country must heed the message of unity and inclusion being demanded by young Kenyans popularly known as Gen Z.
Speaking on a local political television show on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, Omogeni criticised Kenya’s long-standing practice of ethnic mobilisation, stating that it has severely weakened national unity and distorted the democratic process.
Omokeni cited former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who was recently questioned by a young Kenyan at a diaspora forum about his dedication to serving the whole country rather than prioritising his ethnic base, as an example. Senator Okong’o Omogeni weighed in, stressing that ethnic mobilisation is a deep-rooted issue that cuts across all political parties in Kenya.
“We should not single out Gachagua alone,” Omogeni said.
“Ethnic mobilisation is happening across the board. Every political party in this country tends to find its roots in its leader’s ethnic background. From there, they rally other ethnic blocs and form a government. Once in power, they turn to communities and say, ‘Because you are with us, your people will benefit.’ That’s the political pattern Gen Zs are rejecting,” he added
Civic awakening
The senator described the Gen Z-led civic awakening as a necessary disruption to the status quo, praising their resolve to be “tribeless” and issue-focused. According to Omogeni, the youth are demanding that politics be anchored in ideas, values, and national interest, not ethnicity.
“They are saying they want to look at the candidate on the presidential ballot and say, ‘We identify with you because of your party’s ideals, not because of where you come from,’” he said. “That’s powerful. That’s where this country needs to go.”
He warned that the government’s violent response to youth-led protests is both tragic and shortsighted. “Unfortunately, we respond to their cause by killing them with a gun,” he said.
“If I were the president today, I would pay attention to what Gen Z is telling us, because ethnic politics are destabilising. Politics of exclusion brings problems,” he added
Omogeni’s remarks come in the wake of weeks of mass protests led by Gen Z across major cities in Kenya, as young people demand transparency, inclusivity, and a new political order that prioritises citizens over tribal affiliations.
As debates around national unity and generational change continue, Omogeni’s candid acknowledgement of systemic failures and his call for leaders to listen mark one of the strongest endorsements yet from the political establishment for a movement that is redefining Kenya’s democratic future.