IMANI: Old bait of tribal politics can’t catch new, savvy Gen Z fish

Protesters in Nairobi CBD/June 25, 2025/FILE

His bare minimum was numbers: ethnic votes.Gachagua believes anyone considering himself or herself fit for the arduous task of unseating President William Ruto must have a sizeable tribal backing.And he is right, but only to a certain extent.

The former DP, like other politicians, is privy to one fact that has worked in previous elections, among previous voting blocs: without your community’s following, you cannot rise to power. Not even a beautiful, well-thought-out manifesto will take you where only your community’s numbers can.But times have changed.

There’s a new kid on the block ¾ quite literally ¾ whose only tribe is Kenyan.Opposition strategies of tribal arithmetic will most likely be an epic failure, as they will lose out on Tribe Tribeless – Gen Z.In all their agitations, this youthful bloc has shown a distaste for political lingo, demanding instead for proof of work done.

They have visited schools that stand derelict for lack of funding, while capitation is gobbled by ghost institutions. They physically verified a number of hospitals on the SHA payroll, granted millions, while mission hospitals that serve massive populations are denied rightful payment for services rendered. They have dug into proposed bills to determine their viability or lack thereof.

Team Tribeless wants action. They have scrutinised leaders’ job descriptions, analysed their KPIs and now demand performance; an ROI (return on investment) commensurate with the perks taxpayers have invested in those in leadership.  Furthermore, to hear several opposition party leaders announce the rebranding of their outfits to attract Gen Z is either shortsighted or narrow-minded.

It has been tried, tested and found largely ineffective, as most young people who were opted?/coopted into political parties have, for the most part, failed to make a distinguishing mark for themselves—with a few exceptions. Instead, once in office, they begin to sing to the tune of those at the helm of the party, which, in most cases, are the old guard.

So, while parties pledge newness, they keep the old brooms that seldom sweep clean. The ‘Young Turks’ are muzzled and their ideas stifled, or worse, having been ignored, they turn their attention to personal pursuits ¾ at the expense of public service delivery, passing time but with little development to show for it.

These are not just young people looking for representation at the adults' table. No! They have demonstrated a thirst for what is fair, just and true in all dealings that affect the public, ethnicity notwithstanding. The opposition must recognise that this bloc is driven by issues, not personalities or ethnic pride.

Their language is one of accountability and tangible results. A successful strategy, therefore, cannot be a mere coalition of tribal chieftains. It must be a coalition of clear, actionable ideas aimed squarely at the economic and governance crises facing the country.

The opposition’s current strategies seem to have one agenda ¾  to send Ruto home. It worked in 2002, when political leaders put their ambitions aside and rallied behind one man, effectively outnumbering Daniel Moi’s preferred successor. But that type of euphoria is unlikely to be replicated today.

The electorate has different pressure points. It is more about rerouting the economy back to stability, doing away with punitive bills and removing bottlenecks that impede development.

 Voters are not interested in getting Ruto out ‘per se’; they are more focused on putting in a leader who has the heart and competence to make things right.

Their agenda is not vendetta, but rather getting the country back on the right track: to secure gains made from devolution, to lock out those who have impoverished the country through corruption and ill-gotten gains, to improve rather than replace working systems with other frameworks that do little to change lives.

Gen Z is not interested in being an add-on or a tick-box exercise; they want their pragmatic, evidence-based approach to problem solving to be at the very heart of a new political agenda.

My hope is that the opposition will fail to see this nuance and that Gen Z, in all their glory, will put their numbers behind true leaders with demonstrated integrity, a proven track record and a sound vision.

These are the characteristics that will satiate the youth’s appetite for better governance. The old bait of tribal politics simply will not catch this new, sophisticated fish.