NAIROBI, Kenya- They were born after the repeal of Section 2A. Most of them never knew a Kenya without multiparty politics.
Some learned about Daniel arap Moi’s iron rule only through history books, documentaries, or whispered family stories.
Yet it is this generation—Kenya’s Gen Z—that is now on the frontlines, defending the very freedoms that were won long before they were born.
As the country prepares to mark 35 years of Saba Saba this Monday, July 7, the momentum is being driven not by veterans of past resistance movements, but by 19, 22, and 26-year-olds—armed with smartphones, posters, and trauma from weeks of violent crackdowns.
Their message is clear: “We’re not just marching to commemorate history. We’re marching because it’s repeating itself”.
From Kamukunji to TikTok
On July 7, 1990, when opposition figures Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia, and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga dared to call for a public rally at Kamukunji Grounds, they knew the price would be high.
And it was—beatings, detentions, deaths.
Today’s movement is less centralized, but no less courageous.
“TikTok is our Kamukunji,” says Brian Otieno, 22, who has livestreamed multiple protest days.
“We don’t need a podium or a press conference. We have 30 seconds to say something and reach a million people.”
Hashtags like #77NiNumber and #SabaSabaRevolution have become rallying points, linking isolated struggles from Nairobi’s estates to towns like across the country.
A Generation Born Into Broken Promises
Gen Z did not just wake up angry. Their rage is layered: joblessness despite degrees, police killings in their hoods, skyrocketing rent, fake internships, black tax, and a government that rarely speaks their language—unless it’s to condemn “foreign influence.”
“They keep saying we’re funded by outsiders. No one funds grief,” says Linda, whose cousin was shot during a protest inNairobi.
“We’re doing this because the system is broken. Period.”
Most of them grew up hearing tales of how the 2010 Constitution would change their lives. Fifteen years later, many are still waiting.
A Generational Hand-Off—or Takeover?
For decades, Saba Saba belonged to a generation that fought for democratic space.
In 2025, that generation watches as its children—and grandchildren—demand not just space, but structural change.
The difference? This generation doesn’t want to be politicians. They want to dismantle the systems that fail them.
