Into Africa – What is Sustaining Kenya’s “Gen-Z” Protests?

Host: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Episode Date: August 14, 2025

Main Theme and Purpose

This episode of Into Africa: The Youth Bloom delves into the drivers and dynamics behind Kenya’s youth-led, digitally coordinated protest movements, commonly known as the "Gen-Z protests". Guided by Hasai Mohulo, a CSIS Africa Program research assistant and Kenyan Gen Z, and her guest Chemutai—a recent Oberlin College graduate and analyst of African digital activism—the conversation explores the roots, methods, and impacts of these protests, highlighting issues of justice, accountability, intersectionality, and the role of music and joy in resistance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Diaspora, FOMO, and Digital Participation

• Hasai Mohulo and Chemutai both experience the protests from the U.S., participating actively via social media and feeling the "FOMO" (fear of missing out) seeing their peers on the ground.
• Chemutai discusses the psychological impact of digital activism—balancing “injecting” (constant retweeting/sharing) protest material online with the isolation of diaspora life.

  "It's very scary to watch all of these things through the screen, especially in such an isolated way... I still have to go on with my life." – Chemutai [03:57]

2. Counterpublics and Power Structures [05:00]

• Counterpublics: Spaces where marginalized groups build alternate narratives away from the dominant culture.
• Chemutai: Although youth are the demographic majority in Kenya, they’re a minority in terms of power, hence qualifying as a “counterpublic.”

  "The dominant group in numbers isn't really the group that holds the power, it's the political elite." – Chemutai [05:47]

3. Justice: Digital Activism’s Reach & Limits [08:27]

• Social media is a critical tool for Kenyan protest organization due to high smartphone and internet penetration (~40.8% internet, 56.1 million mobile data subscribers, 22.7 million users in 2024).
• Online actions go beyond grievances, enabling:
  • Real-time sharing of protest developments.
  • Documentation of abductions & state violence.
  • Rapid, impactful crowdfunding (e.g., 20 million Ksh raised for victims’ bills).
• Unlike previous movements, Ruto Must Go is class-based, not ethnic-based.

  “For the first time in recent Kenyan history...Kenyans have organized along class lines. Our politics has been highly ethnicized. Now... it’s basically us against the elite.” – Chemutai [10:08]

4. Accountability: Intersection of Digital Feminism & Protest [12:50]

• Kenya’s anti-femicide protests (End Femicide KE) set precedent for digital political organizing.
• Women’s activism is central yet complicated by systemic sexism and state-sanctioned violence, such as gang rapes during protests and targeted harassment of female leaders like Njeri Megwe (Usikimye) and Hanifa Adan.

  “The sexism and misogyny that is quite prevalent in the Ruto Must Go movement has stopped the two movements from converging.” – Chemutai [13:38]

• The movement is personal, transcending the state and touching intimate/familial gender violence.

5. Joy and Cultural Expression as Resistance [20:53]

• Joy and art—music, dance, humor, memes—are used to sustain morale and reclaim dignity amid state violence.
  • Protest anthems like "Angukanaya" and "Reject Your Bill".
  • Satirical depictions of President Ruto, memes, and the “El Chapo” nickname.
  • Humor used to subvert the power of fear and maintain hope:

    "We're seeing many ways of Kenyans finding dignity and honor by subverting the violence and using humor through that to be subversive." – Chemutai [23:25]

• However, increased state violence in 2025 dampened the vibrancy and music in protests.

6. Sustaining Momentum: Organizing for the Future [26:09]

• Government unresponsiveness noted; increased state repression described as gaslighting and brutality rather than dialogue.

  "Gen Z have been talking for the last year. Not just talking, but we've been going to the streets. The movement has extended outside of Gen Z. Kenyans have been telling you what is wrong and they've not been listening." – Chemutai [26:45]

• Key strategies for future organizing:
  • Shift tactics as state learns to anticipate mass actions.
  • Build deeper, intersectional, community-based organizing beyond city centers.
  • Maintain pressure: Support victims, hold elected officials accountable, sustain voter engagement.
  • Feminism and intersectionality must be at the core to avoid reproducing internal exclusions:

    "If we're going to be dreaming of a better Kenya, it must be a better Kenya for everyone. Not just men and not just men with certain access to resources and power." – Chemutai [30:07]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the irony of digital marginalization:

  "How is it a counterpublic if the majority is talking about it? ... It's the political elite that hold the power." – Chemutai [05:38]

• On class vs. ethnic lines:

  "For the first time...Kenyans have organized along class lines...our politics has been highly ethnicized." – Chemutai [10:08]

• On state violence:

  "This year at the protests, the extent of music wasn't the same because of the violence of the government... police were going into residential neighborhoods... shooting live bullets." – Chemutai [23:59]

• On joy and protest:

  "Humor, art is a show of resilience... using humor and music helps us reclaim dignity even when the odds are against us." – Hasai [24:35]

• Popular nickname:

  "People call [Ruto] El Chapo...because he's going to fund all of these chapatis...I find that extremely hilarious." – Hasai [25:02]

• On intersectional vision:

  "If we're going to be liberating...it must be a better Kenya for everyone...not just men with certain access." – Chemutai [30:07]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:41–01:23 — Introduction to themes and the co-hosts’ backgrounds.
• 03:36–06:22 — Diaspora engagement & concept of counterpublics.
• 08:27–12:49 — Digital activism, crowdfunding, and class-based organizing.
• 12:50–18:57 — The intersectionality of gender-based violence protests and the broader movement; state-sanctioned violence against women.
• 20:53–25:00 — Role of music, humor, and joy in sustaining protest morale; creative protest culture.
• 26:09–31:15 — The path forward: challenges, government response, strategies for future action, and importance of intersectional activism.

Episode Takeaways

• Kenya’s Gen Z-led protest movement combines digital savvy with grassroots mobilization for justice, accountability, and better governance.
• Social media enables rapid response, education, and inclusion, but also faces limits due to digital divides.
• Issues of power, class, gender, and intersectionality are at the movement’s heart, and internal sexism/violence must be confronted as part of broader reforms.
• Joy, humor, and art are not just coping mechanisms, but essential acts of resistance and sources of hope.
• Sustaining progress requires evolving tactics, community building, solidarity with victims, and a commitment to intersectionality and active citizenship.