Heated debates characterised the discussions during the four-day People Dialogue Festival (PDF) as the youth, who were the majority of the attendees, charted their way forward in their involvement in national politics.

Building on the issues raised during the Gen Z protests last year, the voices reflected a generation that is still discontented with measures that national leaders took to appease them, and harbour reasons to reject them at the ballot in the next polls.

They expressed concern over the high cost of vying for elective posts, which discriminates against them as only rich candidates can buy their support and votes from the public.

Two and a half years before the 2027 elections, the discussions at the park told of a generation that is ready to defy the traditional voting trends that the current political leaders are familiar with, and build their support around them.

“We are not going to wait until the last minute to be told to tick here or tick there, don’t vote for this person, don’t vote for the other person. After this event, we will undertake adequate political socialisation to enable our fellow youth to actively engage in political discussions way before they get to the voting booth,” James Kigen, a former Moi University student, said.

For Faith Mahinda, a law student at Kenyatta University, an imminent voting revolution is in the offing as young people embark on creation of awareness by use of technology, Artificial Intelligence and available social media networks on electoral processes.

Integrity concerns

She termed the move by the youth to register as members of political parties and the calls for formation of youth-led parties as a step in the right direction towards ensuring inclusion in the national discourse.

The youthful learner wondered why we still insist on maintaining a political class made up of people who do not adhere to the Leadership and Integrity Act, yet we keep priding ourselves in having a progressive constitution.

“If we have accountable and people of integrity in the House after 2027, then we will have a nation that we can all have pride in.  I urge my fellow youth not to just be in the digital space but to go to their local communities to educate them on the need to vote in good leaders. Otherwise we’ll keep having this conversation over and over again,” she argued.

Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina encouraged the youth in their numbers to vie for elective positions or to vote their counterparts as a way of gaining control of government systems.

“It is either you’re in the system or you run the system. Clearly young people don’t run the system so you have to be in the system by vying for political office,” the legislator, who was elected at the age of 27, Maina told the attentive audience.

 She told aspiring politicians to package themselves as leaders with visions if they are to beat their older opponents who are likely to stereotype them as young and inexperienced.

 “…how many kids do you have? Do you have a husband? Do you know how to cook? Because those are the things, your opponent will have to say, this is a young man, he doesn’t know anything. Tell your supporters how you will offer solutions to the challenges that they are facing.” Maina told a female youth.