Kenya’s general elections are due on August 9th, 2022.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the constitutional body in charge of Kenya’s electoral process, is on record lamenting youth apathy to register as voters. In a spirited and ambitious plan to bring more young voters into the fold, IEBC rolled out a national mass voter registration targeting 6 million new voters. Primarily, the commission urged the youth aged 18 and above, the legal voting age, to come out in droves. Less than half of the targeted voters registered since most youth kept away from the exercise. Kenya’s youth apathy to voting, a civic duty, underpins deeper issues on how the political process remains disconcerted to youth needs and realities which does not augur well for the overall democratic space in Kenya.
Self-serving political class
The exiting government offers a case study on how successive governments fail to attain the heights to appeal and serve to the needs of Kenyan youth. While taking over the government in 2013, the outgoing administration promised to create 1 million jobs annually.
Chuckles.
In this World Bank Report, the extensive unemployment problem is explored, with youth and women the most affected. The disillusionment with government inaction, kleptocracy and adept corruption by the ruling political class has further alienated the youth. The corruption scandals across Kenya’s government two-tier governance system stink to high heavens. A political class keen to replenish its coffers with public funds at the expense of affordable healthcare, quality education, well-paying jobs and myriads of challenges facing most Kenyan youth cannot cry wolf when the oppressed are not keen to vote. That Kenyan MPs earn 40 times the average wage is shocking. Outrageously, Kenyan legislators are among the best compensated globally. Compared to the apparent challenges that need solving in Kenya, and their actual output to dealing with them, Kenyan legislators don’t deserve such high wages. That’s neither here nor there but with a relatively educated young population, it’s not surprising such hypocrisy is pointed out.
Does voting bring change?
Ideally, YES.
Look at how former US President Barack Obama captured the youth’s frenzy in his 2008 campaign of ‘Yes We Can’ to make history as the first African-American president. Totally unrelated but Obama Sr. hails from Kenya. Dictators, incompetents, corrupt leaders, fascists are voted out, or in, through a democratic process. That’s indisputable.
However, in Kenya, the more leaders change, the more things seem to remain the same. Poor roads, high cost of living, loss of public funds, unemployment among other notable social, economic and political inadequacies persist. What’s the point of participating in a process that doesn’t bring the change desired? It’s a question that calls for self-reflection not only among the political class but also among Kenyan voters.
Domesticated Neo-colonialism
When Kenya gained independence from the Crown in 1963, there was optimism the ingrained systems of extraction and exploitation of the masses would end. The birthed nation required a new approach to cater for the needs of an expectant populace. Ironically, the political class never weaned itself off the colonial approach. Kenya’s politicians are the new lords. A system that fronts public interest doesn’t exist, as yet. It’s not surprising that the youth silently dissent the system, and their indifferent to their civic duties highlights it.
What then?
Kenyan youth cannot be used to legitimize and validate political contests that neither capture their ideals nor meet their everyday needs. Turning Kenyan youth into fodder for voting machines to maintain a colonial system that adores and rewards corruption, mismanagement, opulence and moral decay is unacceptable. For far too long, the political class has got away with too much. Perhaps, the voter apathy pricks their conscience though that’s a tough ask.
Voting should usher a new dawn, a better dawn. This is not guaranteed.
As a registered Kenyan youth voter, I am wary of what the forthcoming general elections bring. I advise the Kenyan youth to take up this noble civic duty, as voters and active contestants, and DEMAND for change. With a clear majority of Kenya’s population, Kenyan youth can be the change they need.
A government of the people, for the people and by the people, requires a majority. Apathy doesn’t solve Kenya’s chronic challenges but participation is a step in the right direction. Ultimately, politics is a game of numbers.
Let the Kenyan youth make their voices heard, and as the majority, have their way.
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