In early 2000, Kenya was taking a new curve of appetite for revolution. Young Kenyans had fought President Moi to repeal section 2A in the 90s, opening Kenya’s democratic space for freedom and liberty. When President Kibaki came to power, most of today’s Gen Z were very young or born thereafter.

The current youthful population is estimated at 75-80 per cent under 35 years old, while those above 50 represent just four per cent. 

This data reveals a profound disconnect between older Kenyans (President Ruto’s age mates) and current Gen Z.

Their worlds of imagination are far apart, unable to reciprocate each other’s aspirations and thinking. These are kids who received free education under Kibaki, born in the age of technology and social media platforms. 

They don’t need physical assembly for demonstrations or meetings; Google meetings, X spaces of global scale, designing apps, and emails communicate directly with the State.

This has confused the octogenarians leading the government, with the old school, not tech-savvy, unable to cope with the speed, sophistication, and intelligence of this new breed of youthful Kenyans, exposing their lack of understanding of what a new Kenya should look like. 

Gen Z this week are mourning the aftermath of protests that resulted in the deaths of at least three young men near Parliament. Since then, youthful, tech-savvy, well-educated Kenyans have given President Ruto’s regime sleepless nights.  

Many others were kidnapped, tortured, their bodies dumped in different places, and others disappeared without a trace. It’s not about tribes or clans anymore. It’s about a better Kenya for all of us. 

Rose Njeri, an activist and software developer, was arrested on May 30, 2025. Her crime? Developing a website that enables Kenyans to submit memoranda to Parliament on the 2025 Finance Bill.

The platform was designed as a civic tool to help citizens exercise their constitutional right to petition government officials. Public uproar and backlash forced the government to present her in court. 

The same week, Albert Ojwang, a 31-year-old teacher, was picked up from his father’s house in western Kenya and driven nearly 400km to DCI headquarters. His supposed crime? Tweeting that Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat was involved in corruption.  

By Sunday morning, Albert was dead, his body bearing signs of brutal beating. The autopsy results are painful: blunt force trauma, strangulation, defensive wounds. More anger, frustration, and youth alienation from this regime followed. 

Our plights have eternally been wages, wealth gap, and elite overproduction. Since President Jomo Kenyatta, elites have conspired to protect themselves. Wages for ordinary workers have been ignored, and a majority are trapped in poverty.  

Going forward, Gen Z must identify a President – maybe 40 and above – to steer the country into the future. It can be done; we just need a President who is not corrupt. It’s that simple. If the President is corrupt, everything under him smells of thieves, thugs, looters, and criminals. 

The writer is a Journalist and policy analyst based in Mandera County