Former State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita has urged Kenya’s political establishment to rethink how it engages young people.
In a statement, he warned that attempts to interpret or manage the Gen Z movement through traditional political structures risk missing a deeper shift taking place in the country.
Reflecting on the events surrounding the June 25, 2024, demonstrations, Waita argued that both those in government and those in opposition underestimated the significance of what had emerged.
“When June 25 happened, neither the establishment nor the opposition had any clue what had just hit the country,” Waita said.
“They still don’t."
According to Waita, the movement should not be viewed through conventional political lenses or reduced to existing political alignments.
Instead, he described it as a generational force that is reshaping how citizens organise, communicate, and influence national conversations.
His remarks come as the Gen Z movement continues to spark political reflection over how young people are reshaping public participation, influence, and accountability
Waita cautioned older political actors against assuming leadership or control over a movement that emerged largely outside formal structures.
“My advice to all the old folks thinking that they are the newfound managers of the Gen Z movement is this,” he said.
Whether leaders agree with the movement or not, Waita argued, the country’s institutions will eventually have to adapt to changing demographic realities.
“Whether we like it or not, our politics, our economy, and our social structures will have to bend to the will of the majority generation,” he said.
In his view, the next phase of Kenya’s development will not be defined solely by political elites but increasingly by a generation with different expectations around leadership, participation, and influence.
“It won’t be shaped by the political elite,” he said.
Waita used a technology metaphor to explain what he sees as the difference between younger generations and previous political eras.
“This Gen Z operating system doesn’t operate on the Gen X, Baby Boomer code,” he said.
He described younger people as highly adaptive and less attached to traditional systems of authority.
“Their software is nimble, rewriting itself daily to survive adversity, but ultimately it aims to dominate,” Waita said.
Rather than resisting change, Waita argued that leaders should create space for participation before frustration deepens.
“Better bring them to the proverbial table early before they remove it entirely,” he said.
