We’re not begging for dignity, we’re demanding it

Just like many of my peers, I feel this deep in my bones. We’re not asking for luxury. We’re not out here looking for handouts or shortcuts.
We just want the basics that any human being deserves.
We wake up every morning, hustle hard, face a million challenges and still, somehow, we’re expected to stay quiet and smile like things are okay. But they’re not okay.
We’re tired. Tired of working hard and having nothing to show for it. Tired of being taxed for breathing, while politicians swim in luxury.
Tired of watching our parents struggle, our siblings drop out of school, and our friends waste away with no opportunities. Tired of being told to “be patient” while the people in power get richer overnight.
You ask what Kenyans want? We want to live. To breathe. To grow. To stop choosing between buying unga and paying rent.
To stop fearing every budget announcement like it’s a death sentence. To walk into a hospital and actually find medicine. To get a job or start a small business without the government sucking us dry before we even begin.
Gen Z isn’t rising because they’re lazy. They’re rising because they’ve had enough. And guess what? So have the rest of us.
We want a chance to build our lives, not just survive. We want leaders who listen, not lecture. We want equality in opportunity, services, and voice.
We want an end to the looting and impunity. We want a future that’s not written only for the rich and connected.
So when you hear Kenyans shouting in the streets, just know it’s not noise.
It’s pain. It’s frustration. It’s hope crying out for change.
And if the people in power can’t hear it, maybe they’re the ones who need to come down and walk in our shoes.
Even just for a day. They’d feel the heat we live with every single day.
This brings me to something equally urgent and personal: HIV. We’re done sugarcoating it. HIV is not just a statistic.
It’s people. It’s lives. It’s me. It’s my friend. It’s my sister. It’s our story.
Living with HIV in Kenya today isn’t just about the virus. It’s about the stigma, the silence, and the systems that are failing us.
It’s about clinics with no ARVs. It’s about youth who fear testing because they know judgment will follow.
It’s about living with a condition that society still treats like a secret or a sin.
But let’s be clear: We’re not dirty. We’re not broken. We’re not less. We’re resilient. We’re thriving. We’re here.
What do young people living with HIV want? Access to consistent, quality treatment. Mental health support that recognises our full humanity.
Real sex education is not shame-based silence.
A society that doesn’t define us by our status. Seats at the table when decisions are being made about our lives.
We’re not going to beg for dignity. We’re going to demand it.
The writer is a Principal Adviser for advocacy at STEF-Kenya