Young Kenyans registered on Monday, March 30 to vote for the 2027 elections, in response to a social media campaign aimed at countering the electoral apathy characterizing their generation. In June 2024, a wave of protests led by the “Generation Z,” who grew up in the 2000s and 2010s, swept over the East African country after President William Ruto announced tax hikes, eroding his popularity among the youth.
The protests turned into a movement of resistance against endemic corruption and human rights violations, which was met with violent repression. According to human rights organizations, over 100 people were killed during the crackdown on the protests – which resumed in June and July last year – and dozens are still missing.
While the streets have since cleared, many remain disillusioned by the government of William Ruto, who came to power promising to improve the lives of the youth and the less privileged. Despite this, the youth voter registration rate for the 2027 election remains low. A campaign led by Generation Z, called #NikoKadi (I have a voter card), has been trying for weeks to convince the country’s largest age group to mobilize.
“People are suffering, people are dying. Money disappears as if by magic,” laments 21-year-old Mark Kipchumba, citing economic hardships and endemic corruption as reasons for his first voter registration. The #NikoKadi initiative aims to ensure that young people register to vote, as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) begins a campaign on Monday to enroll at least 2.5 million new voters in its first 30-day phase.
The commission targets 6.3 million new voters before next year’s presidential and legislative elections, with 70% being youth. “I am here because this card (voter card) represents hope for the future,” said 22-year-old cinema student Peter Mwangi to AFP, from a registration office in the capital Nairobi.
Young people are deploying creative strategies to persuade their peers to join them: on the TikTok social network, they proudly display their voter card, businesses have promised discounts to registered voters, and a concert scheduled for May will require showing the card for entry. Civil rights activist Ademba Allans, 26, and initiator of the campaign, says mobilization is gaining momentum but adds: “Apathy is one of the main obstacles.”
Changing the System
The Kenyan elections of 2022 recorded the lowest voter turnout in 15 years. Youth accounted for only 39.8% of registered voters, a decrease of 5.2 points compared to 2017, according to the Kofi Annan Foundation.
Ademba Allans hopes to make a difference and contribute to the transformation of the country’s political landscape, long dominated by politicians widely perceived as disconnected from the realities of youth. “We want to evolve the system. We want to remove all those in government,” he emphasizes.
For some interviewed youth, the voter registration campaign has become personal. Velma Omondi, 22, explained that she gave an “ultimatum” to two friends she accompanied by threatening to “cut ties” if they did not register. “We cannot call for change if we are not willing to participate,” she stressed.
