Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta suddenly seems to have discovered the power of the youth in Kenya and Africa. He has been calling on young people to boldly rise up and agitate for change and good governance, terming them the ultimate ‘saviours’ of a nation—and by extension a continent.
This call has put him on a collision path with President William Ruto’s regime, which has been warding off the Gen Z’s simmering revolution since the protests against the 2024 Finance Bill.
Recently while delivering a keynote address at the second annual Guild Leader’s Summit 2025 at Makerere University in Uganda, Uhuru said the youth were the “last line of defence in the battle to save the heart and soul of Africa for the sake of future generations” and that they should stand up and be counted. His comments sparked a heated debate, with Ruto-allied politicians accusing him of hypocrisy and incitement.
During the wedding of former Baringo Senator Gideon Moi’s son, Uhuru, in a thinly veiled attack on Kenya Kwanza government, said some people become fearful when the youth speak up. In January during the funeral of his cousin Kibathi Muigai, the former president challenged his daughter Ngina to join the youths in pushing for change. He raised more eyebrows when he pledged his support for the youth in this cause.
Amid this clamour for youth’s political consciousness, the question is whether Uhuru is genuine in asking the youths to rise up and fight for their rights.
Uhuru was president 10 years and it is imperative to critically examine his leadership at that time and question whether he truly has the interests of the youth at heart. He should explain what he did for the youthful population when he had an opportunity to do so.
Notably, during his tenure, matters were no different. The youth were largely sidelined in the governance and were consigned to political misuse by the Old Guard, especially in the run up to the elections.
In 2013, Uhuru and Ruto campaigned on the platform of the youth agenda. They promised to uplift the youth and make them a crucial part of Jubilee government. But upon assuming office, Uhuru and Ruto resorted to status quo by recycling old politicians and retirees in State appointments.
At one point, Uhuru stated that he was comfortable working with elderly folks as compared to the youth who he termed as overambitious and often susceptible to theft of public resources. At the time, the youth had protested the appointment of former vice president Moody Awori, then aged 91, as the chairperson of Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund Board.
Besides, Uhuru’s government did little to create job opportunities for the youth but instead gained notoriety for creating rich tenderprenuers and political wheeler-dealers, the bulk of whom were seasoned politicians and retired public servants. Real and sustainable youth empowerment programmes were never initiated apart from the Kazi Mtaani programme that saw young people engage in menial work like clearing rubbish and unclogging drainage systems. The programme later turned into a cash cow for powerful government officials, leading to cries of delayed or no payments from the youth.
The NYS, into which the Jubilee government pumped lots of taxpayers’ money ostensibly to create a skilled youthful workforce, was riddled with with corruption and turned into a conduit to enrich a few people in government at the expense of the youth. What has changed now that makes Mr Kenyatta to all of a sudden believe that the youth hold the key to the future of this nation?
Mr Nandiemo is a teacher
By Vivere Nandiemo