Of Gen Z Protests and the Demand for People Centred Leadership and Governance in Kenya and beyond

Preface 

Twenty-five June 2024 remains engrained in people’s minds as a turning point in Kenya’s history. From all perspectives, the national protest against a contentious Finance Bill evolved to what is undoubtedly a genuine demand for a people centred leadership and governance in Kenya. The recent marking of the first anniversary of the protests that led to the death of over 60 people^[1] in 2024 saw another 16 being extrajudicially killed in 2025.^[2] The rejection of the Finance Bill in 2024 has brought a sharp focus on what really ails the country in terms of quality and people centred leadership and governance for responsive and effective delivery of services, not only in Kenya but across countries. 

The generational context

To understand the June 2025 protests, which were slowly taking shape for an annual commemoration, contextualization on how events morphed after the 2024 demonstrations is important. Under the hashtag #RejectFinanceBill2024, the demonstrations in June 2024 were organically led by Generation (Gen) Z or the Zoomers. This is the generation succeeding the Millennials and preceding the Alpha, a generation that has grown with a lot of internet exposure. The generation is largely characterized by the age-set from mid-to-late 1990s with early 2010s being the ending birth years. This generation is largely the children of Generation X (born from 1965 to 1980) or older Millennials (from late 1980s to early 2000s).

Generation Z has fully grown with portable digital technology from a young age, and even if they are not digitally literate, they really run and control what happens on social media. The majority of them are content creators, using these to connect with the rest of the Zoomers across the world. Literally, content creation has become one of the avenues and sources of employment, making the world a global village where content created in Los Angeles may be seen or watched in Kenya even before those in the USA have seen or watched it. This generation is using demonstrations to create more content and earn a living through followership or views. But how has the country understood and responded to these generation Z demonstrations? How have the youth issues been addressed in the country and are the protests and demonstrations only around rejection of the Finance Bill 2024 or the marking of the first anniversary? What underlying conditions and situations are pushing the youths to demonstrate or protest with no fear and are even willing to go the extra mile to prove their case irrespective of the legal consequences they may face? This is the contextual background which calls for serious reflections, with calls for ways and means to be found leading to change in tactics and strategies in how to respond to the protests and demonstrations. The need to unpack the key issues in understanding the generation Z protests, what are the underlying youth issues and how they should be addressed, should remain a constant theme in Kenya’s national development agenda. 

Fundamental right as per the law 

Constitutionally, Article 37 of the Constitution of Kenya guarantees every person the right to, peaceably and unarmed, assemble, demonstrate, picket, and present petitions to public authorities. This is one of the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution which Kenyans gave unto themselves in August 2010. The article is further operationalized through the Public Order Act, Chapter 56, which provides for the maintenance of public order and related purposes and the National Police Service Act. The Public Order Act regulates public meetings and processions, requiring notification to authorities and specifying conditions for their conduct. The Act also addresses other issues like the prohibition of certain organizations, offensive weapons, and curfew orders during realization of Article 37. The Act has been criticized for potentially infringing upon fundamental rights like freedom of expression and assembly, rights which are guaranteed by the Kenyan Constitution^[3]. One can argue that the discretionary power given to the National Police Service to regulate the practice of constitutional rights and freedoms is the very way of taking away the same rights and freedoms from the people.

The Public Order Act has been amended over time, and its provisions have been subject to legal challenges, including those related to its constitutionality and the legality of directives issued under its authority. Further, the Act grants the police significant powers in managing public gatherings and processions, including the ability to stop, prevent, and disperse them. Notably, any public meetings or processions held contrary to the Act’s provisions are deemed unlawful assemblies, and those participating can face penalties. The Act is currently a subject of a national debate with intentions to amend it.

The proposed amendment to the Public Order Act (Cap 56) by the Nairobi County Woman Representative Esther Passaris seeks to bar demonstrators from assembling within 100 meters of protected areas, including Parliament. Her proposal seeks to establish clearly demarcated assembly and demonstration zones in which public meetings and processions may take place, in line with Article 37 of the Constitution. The Woman Representative is also pushing for amendments to Section 2 of the Public Order Act to redefine the terms “public meeting” and “public procession” and proposes including definitions for “capital city,” “city,” “urban area,” and “assembly and demonstration zone.” Her proposal is that violation of the provisions in the amendments would be considered an offense, punishable by a fine not exceeding Ksh.100,000, imprisonment for up to three months, or both. In her view, this would bring order while protestors or demonstrators are exercising their rights under Article 37 of the Constitution. But what is not being said is the emotive way in which the Member of Parliament is reacting to the June 2025 events and how transient these emotions would be going forward.

Why demonstrations or protests

Demonstrations and protests are a means or methods which aggrieved individuals, groups or organisations express themselves to concerned or responsible duty bearers. Article 33 of the constitution of Kenya guarantees freedom of expression, which includes the right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas, as well as artistic creativity, academic freedom, and freedom of scientific research. The right is not absolute and does not extend to propagation of war, incitement to violence, hate speech, or advocacy of hatred that constitutes ethnic incitement, vilification, or incitement to cause harm. In exercising this right, individuals, groups and organisations must respect the rights and reputation of others. Importantly, the right to be heard while one is expressing him/herself or themselves is tied to Article 37, noting that demonstrations and protests often occur when citizens feel unheard and need to publicly express their dissent or discontentment. 

Demonstrations and protests in Kenya are not new phenomena. Historically, the country’s foundations are built on protests and demonstrations, even when one looks into the wars against colonialism, the fight for land and freedom (Mau Mau war), the fight against one party system, the struggle for a new constitution, and now the uprising against that was necessitated by rejection of the Finance Bill 2024. Fundamentally, this uprising is largely an economic liberation struggle for survival. The struggle will remain within the people and generations if no change of tactics and strategies are identified and defined by the government

Sociologically, people’s struggle expressed through demonstrations or protests define the turning point of any country, deepening nation-state building and development. One constant figure and feature in these people's struggles are the youth. The people are largely in the age sets of 18 years to 35 years. This is why it calls upon those with authority to turn back and ask what can be done differently, and by whom, as the young people keep trying to find a meaning and purpose to their lives by connecting and interacting with the daily happenings around them, the hindrances they have in achieving their dreams, and the desired goals they have in life. It is these hindrances, obstacles and challenges, having witnessed how their frontrunners fought to surmount the same challenges and obstacles in pain, that define their new frontiers of engagement.

Triggers 

Any fruitful expression through demonstrations or protests, solidifying a national agenda, have key triggers. The land and freedom wars by the Mau Mau were national, the fight against one party system was national, the struggle for a new constitution was national and the Finance Bill 2024 triggered a huge national agenda- economic liberation of the people. This rallied and unified the Generation Z to fight for their space to be heard and their economic issues to be unpacked and understood nationally. In all these national platforms pushing for change, it is the national voices which put the state machinery into unprecedented, reactive and reproachful responses, with no tact or strategy in place hence leading to deaths, killings, injuries, assaults, abductions, kidnappings and all forms of human rights violations. 

Usually, the state, which acts through competing interests, does not have any solid plan in responding to people’s demands through demonstrations or protests. In the 25 June 2024 situation for instance, it was a straightforward matter that the state ought to have shelved or withdrawn the Finance Bill 2024 to heed the demands of Generation Z but the opposite was the case, leading to military deployment as the preferred intervention to quell the protests. Similar case was witnessed during the commemorative anniversary which was largely assumed by the state organs with no proactive strategies to pre-empt the demonstrations. A historian and a social scientist will quickly question whether the demonstrators have become enemies or combatants against the state for military to be deployed or use of excessive force to be witnessed, yet humanly interventions, such as listening to the grievances could de-escalate any situation. Having given ourselves the constitution with enhanced democratic rights, it is the state through the responsible organs and institutions that should always be proactive in asking what can be done not to curtail those exercising their democratic rights as enshrined in the constitution but to provide room, avenues and mechanisms for realization of the treasured rights and beyond.     

Generation Z, just like any other youthful stage of life, are eager for education, are keen to learn but get easily stressed and depressed with happenings in the society that seem to curtail their aspiration - a point raised in an article in the Economist, February 2019.^[4] The generation is shaped by a drastically different world, resulting in key differences in attitudes, tendencies and outlook. They are politically a progressive generation and want to avoid the shortcomings they noted from their parents. And truth be told, they are bold and daring as it has been shown with their storming of Parliament in 2024, something unheard of in Kenya despite its history of protests and demonstrations. So far, one can say the generation is engaged and are conscientious stewards of a new Kenya — by being socially-minded, independent and creative thinkers, who recognize their responsibility in shaping a more equitable future for all Kenyans. But what should drive them to these great thinking after they were triggered by the rejected Finance Bill of 2024?

Demand for people centred development 

It is a fact that Kenya developed the Kenya Youth Development Policy, in 2019, then under the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology and the State Department for Youth Affairs. This Policy recognized that the youth are the strength, wealth and drivers of innovation in Kenya and deliberate and systematic efforts were necessary to appropriately equip and empower them to attain and realize their full potential and. in turn, drive the attainment of development objectives in Kenya. However, and as it has been the norm where good policy documents are developed and shelved, this policy is rarely spoken of. Its association with the previous administration may even be blurring interaction with it. Youth issues including youth participation in development agendas, participation in politics, youth discrimination and exclusion, youth work and employment are all discussed in the policy, hence this ought to be understood and addressed beyond and before the Finance Bill 2024. 

With so many write ups on the youth and youth development, Kenyans of goodwill should come out and ask what role needs to be played by everyone towards a better Kenya today and tomorrow. There should be outright democratic support of the Gen Z course. All actors should come out firmly, soonest and boldly to speak with one voice on what is happening and design the path into addressing the issues facing the country. Democratic processes call for democratic political mobilisation and organisation. This can only happen when one is thinking of what lies ahead. 

Thinking ahead and in a broad way, Gen Z in Kenya and beyond should fundamentally and quickly not be obsessed with the achievements and successes they made by objectively advocating for rejection of the Finance Bill in 2024. The rejection of the Bill was not the only panacea to the socio-economic and political challenges faced by the human society in Kenya. With the commemorative anniversary, it is indeed a stepping milestone to sustain the momentum that was generated in June 2024 and they ought to keep unpacking the societal conditions and situations that forced the Finance Bill 2024 on Kenyans. By doing such reflective analysis, they would broaden their connection with narratives that were marketed to them during the 2022 general elections and ask themselves what really happened, and why they cannot see or realise the many promises and pledges that were made during the campaigns. 

Importantly, it was the Gen Z that were called the wheelbarrow pushers, the cart pushers, the hustlers, the downtrodden, the poor, the ones whose kazi ni kazi slogan got huge following and connected with the masses, and their parents had seen hope through such narratives. The dynasties that had been branded as having failed the country over the years since independence were pushed out of the realms of power. And yes, it was to be a government of the hustlers, the majority poor who had suffered under the hands of the dynasties. This narrative never lasted as the structural trappings of power within the state caught up with the same marketers of the hustler narrative and do not seem to listen anymore to the cries of the same young people they preached hope to. Unpackaging what had been sold as hope is important as the youths have been branded as “the dangerous criminals of the nation” who are doing “treasonous” activities. The underlying material conditions and situations are rarely being genuinely analysed or addressed, rather the use and dump approaches have perpetuated the suffering of youths just like the rest of Kenyans. 

Gen Z just like the rest of Kenyans should seek alternative broad approaches to deal with the treacherous conditions and situations they find themselves in. One of the ways is to organize politically through political parties and seek political power. This way the transformative processes would not be another stillbirth. They should keep seeking ways to address the root causes of public dis-satisfactions with the nation-state, advance the constitutional aspirations and constitutionalism, while noting that for peace to prevail, justice must be seen to be done at all times. Where there is injustice, people will naturally feel contempt and thus they should find the root causes of injustices - socially, economically, culturally, legally, environmentally and politically.

 A call to all generations

The need for all generations in Kenya, individually and collectively, to join hands in defining the future of the country for people centred leadership and  democracy      to reign is imminent. This can be made possible through supporting any initiatives aimed at fighting poor leadership, corruption, impunity, violation and disrespect of human rights. Whistleblowers on any societal vices should be supported and protected, as the fundamental freedoms and human rights espoused in the Constitution be upheld. People centred political vehicles should also be identified, organised and mobilised towards addressing the societal challenges. The overall goal should always remain how to transform the Kenyan state-nation to be people centred in all ways. May the successes and achievements made by Gen Z not be in vain. 

Stephen Musau is a human rights defender currently serving as a Board Member, Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) Kenya, and an expert in human rights, policing, security, conflict, corporate governance and strategic leadership and management. Musau has worked with both the civil society and public service sectors in Kenya, having honed human rights skills with Release Political Prisoners (RPP) since 1999. 

Endnotes