African governments are unprepared for the growing political and social awakening of their youth

Africa is experiencing a youth awakening of revolutionary depths, but African leaders are not demonstrating comparable enthusiasm to match their vitality. Battle lines have been drawn and many policymakers on the continent are yet to appreciate the potency that this generation possesses and are often caught by surprise when they wield their power.

The activism and agency of young people across the continent in politics, social issues, entrepreneurship and technological innovation is unprecedented. They are becoming a political force, advocating for transparency, accountability and good governance.

The latest battle zone is in Kenya where President William Ruto’s administration has faced nationwide protests over the now-withdrawn Finance Bill that sought to impose a heavy tax burden on citizens in attempts to implement IMF reforms.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Kenya braces for fresh protests despite president’s tax climbdown

In exchange for a bailout programme agreed in 2021, Kenya committed to increase revenue collection to 25% of gross domestic product, slash debt and cut wastage. Ruto came into power in 2022 and embarked on painful reforms that included new and increased levies on housing, fuel, medical and vehicle insurance, sanitary towels, bread and online money transactions, among other punitive tax measures.

“There are no soft solutions to this. We have a huge debt. We have a huge deficit. We are living beyond our means,” Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi argued. “It is now time that we stopped the haemorrhage. And to stop the haemorrhage is for us to broaden the tax base and enhance revenue collection so that we can minimise the damage we have been causing by borrowing all the time.”

However, social media was quickly awash with memories of the painful structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) in the 1990s that caused massive privatisation and retrenchment of thousands of civil servants in the country, and debates on anti-welfare and insensitive IMF prescriptions.

Word going around was that “the administration has surrendered to the IMF and World Bank and ignored the feelings of the people,” said Macharia Munene, a professor of history and international relations at the United States International University in Nairobi.

A protester confronts an anti-riot police officer after being teargassed as he takes part in a demonstration against a controversial tax bill in the central business district in Nairobi, Kenya. 20 June 2024. (Photo: EPA-EFE/Daniel Irungu)

Protests and push-back

“Kenya is not IMF’s lab rat,” a raised placard in the protests read. What started as online rage against runaway wastage among government officials and a President accused of globetrotting in private jets accompanied by huge delegations, quickly exploded into street protests by the younger generation of youths, better known in Kenya as Gen Z.

The street protests by the youths were partly stirred by the contempt shown towards them by state officials: “Politics is a contact sport. Digital activism is just wanking. Any jackass can kick down a barn but it takes a good carpenter to build one,” said the President’s economic adviser, David Ndii.

Moreover, the Majority Leader in parliament, Kimani Ichung’wah, dismissed the protesters as “privileged Nairobi urbanites with iPhones, arriving for protests in Uber rides, eating KFC chicken and drinking bottled water”.

Soon afterwards, the protests spread countrywide with Gen Z motivated to take responsibility and prove their mettle. They mobilised online, fund-raised, coordinated transport, water points, shared educational resources, used artificial intelligence to design interesting and educative messages and set up a division of labour with unexpected sophistication for their age.

They hacked government websites, sharing personal and business contacts of members of parliament and the executive, created a “list of shame” and promised to hold individuals personally accountable. Most importantly, they urged their parents, politicians and older generations to back off and let them do it their way.

They managed to paralyse business, make their voices heard and show their strength. They have vowed not to relent despite the reported killing of as many as 23 protesters by police. They have replaced public preachers on public transport and are preaching anti-Ruto gospel in buses, trains and aeroplanes using funds mobilised online.

Youth voice will not be quietened

Despite the government’s capitulation and withdrawal of the Finance Bill, they have vowed to continue protesting to demand more accountability, good governance and political freedom.

The Gen Z anti-Finance Bill protests in Kenya caught the establishment as well as the rest of the country by surprise. Kenyan youth have previously been accused of indifference to their civic duties and addiction to online entertainment and gossip. However, recent events prove that this is an assertive generation that is informed and skilled enough to organise and disrupt the establishment if their voices and interests are not heard and acknowledged.

This should serve as a warning to the political establishment throughout Africa. Having the youngest population in the world, with a median age of 19.7 years, presents the continent with significant opportunities and challenges.

With greater access to information, education and skills than previous generations, many see a world of opportunities beyond what the current leadership can offer. Nairobi, Lagos and Cape Town are becoming hubs for start-ups fostering innovation and driving new tech that governments have sometimes not matched up to in terms of policy support and innovation.

Movements like “Y’en a Marre” in Senegal, “EndSARS” in Nigeria and “#FeesMustFall” in South Africa are tell-tale signs of a youth on the move. We must remember the role of young people in the Soweto Uprising of 1976 that disrupted the apartheid establishment and galvanised the freedom movement; the #RhodesMustFall 2015 movement against symbols of colonialism and oppression in South Africa; and other contemporary youth activism that is taken for granted by the establishment.

Gen-Z is a force to reckon with and the sooner we begin to respond to their demands and interests, the better for long-term social and economic stability on the continent. DM

Dr Cliff Mboya is a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg.