Gen Z and Gen X in a big battle to define the Kenya they want

In the annals of Greek mythology, the Titanomachy stands as a timeless saga of rebellion and renewal. This ten-year war pitted the Titans — elder gods of immense power, led by Cronus — against the Olympians, a younger generation spearheaded by Zeus.

I see striking parallels between this myth and Kenya’s unfolding political drama. In my view, Kenya’s generational fault-lines mirror the Titanomachy’s epic clash. Here, Gen-Z embodies the Olympians — restless, defiant, and led by a metaphorical Zeus — rising to challenge the Titans of Gen-X, the “old guard” forged in the crucible of the 1963 constitutional order. This is a cypher to decode Kenya’s past, present and future potential.

In my analysis, Gen X — born roughly between 1965 and 1980 — stands as Kenya’s Titans, towering figures who once reshaped the nation but now cling to power with a might that rivals the gods of old. These are the Young Turks of the 1980s and 1990s — think Raila Odinga, James Orengo, Martha Karua, Kiraitu Murungi, Gitobu Imanyara, Paul Muite and their ilk — who revolted against Kanu regime.

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Their agitation forced the repeal of Section 2A in 1991, ending the one-party state and birthing multi-party democracy in 1992. Like the Titans crafting the world from chaos, Gen X wielded raw power. Yet, as with the Titans, triumph bred complacency. The 1963 constitutional order, a hybrid of colonial vestiges and post-independence chicanery, centralised power in the presidency and elite circles. Gen-X inherited this system, initially resisting its excesses, only to meld into its fabric.

By the 2000s, many Young Turks had morphed into the establishment—political giants whose schemes, from land grabs to corruption scandals, evoke the Titans’ hubris. They became “mightier than the gods,” not in divine stature, but in their untouchable grip on Kenya’s levers of power. Today, figures like William Ruto — himself a Gen-X product—symbolise this evolution: once a disruptor, now a titan defending the old order.

Enter Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, Kenya’s Olympians in my reckoning. Like Zeus, they’ve emerged from the shadows—nurtured not in Crete, but in the digital age of Twitter, TikTok, and WhatsApp. Their thunderbolts? Hashtags and street protests. Their Cyclopes? The decentralised networks forging tools of resistance – Leaderless, Partyless, Tribeless. In 2024, Gen-Z’s fury over the Finance Bill—a tax-heavy measure seen as punitive to the poor—ignited a movement that forced President Ruto to retreat. I see Gen-Z as more than protesters—they are liberators. Their Olympian spirit seeks to free Millennials, born 1981 to 1996, who have been devoured by Gen-X’s political and economic stranglehold.

Millennials, educated and globally attuned, should have inherited Kenya’s democratic gains, yet they languish—underemployed, overtaxed, and sidelined by a gerontocracy.

The Millennials’ plight is central to my thesis. Like Hestia, Hera, and Poseidon trapped in Cronus’s gut, they are a generation with potential stifled by circumstance. Gen-X’s multi-party victory in 1992 promised a new dawn, but the spoils—political seats, economic opportunities—largely stayed with the victors.

By the 2010s, as Kenya adopted a progressive new constitution, Millennials found the system still rigged: jobs scarce, corruption rampant, and power concentrated in Gen-X hands. They’ve been swallowed not by a literal Titan, but by a legacy of patronage and inertia.

Gen-Z’s rebellion offers a lifeline. The 2024 protests weren’t just Gen-Z’s fight — Millennials marched too, their shared grievances over inequality and governance bridging the age gap. Yet, the parallel isn’t flawless. The Titanomachy ended with the Titans’ total defeat; Kenya’s saga remains unresolved. Gen-X still holds the presidency, parliament, and patronage networks—Ruto’s retreat was tactical, not terminal. Kenya’s Titanomachy is a living struggle over who defines the nation. Gen Z, with their digital savvy and moral clarity, are Zeus incarnate—disruptors who could forge a new order. Gen-X, mighty but faltering, risk becoming relics, their legacy tarnished by greed. Millennials, if awakened, could tip the scales.

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