None of the major political parties and alliances in the current election has put forward a clear vision for young people. Instead, the electorate has been treated to the traditional election campaign menu of implicit ethnic hostilities and the attendant fears of politically motivated violence.
In the country’s last election in 2017, then 23-year-old university student Shikoh Kihika started a hashtag, #TribelessYouth, in response to hateful, discriminatory messages she saw on social media. In 2017, over a quarter of Kenya’s population was on social media. It’s likely that fake news and other online messages designed to stoke fear and ethnic resentment contributed to the violence witnessed in that election.
Kihika’s call for unity among Kenyan youth was shared widely. However, a lasting change in behaviour is harder to detect.
Social media is again being used to spread divisive content in the run-up to the August 2022 election.
What the youth say
A survey of University of Nairobi students to gauge their views on democracy and ethnicity was done in August 2018.
The study surveyed 497 students between 18 and 35 less than a year after the 2017 general elections. It’s important to note that our results may have been coloured by the 2017 elections, and youth views may have changed since our survey. Also, the views of university students may differ from those of the youth as a whole.
Of the students we surveyed, 97% identified primarily as Kenyan, choosing their national identity over their ethnic one. One-third stated that ethnicity remained an important part of their daily life; 47% said it played a minor or no role. Most (84%) agreed with a statement that tribal identities hurt Kenyan politics more than they helped.
Many students felt, though, that ethnic discrimination negatively affected their lives and politics. Over a third (38%) stated that members of their group faced disadvantages because of their ethnicity.
That number rose to nearly half among students from the Luo ethnic group, who have been repeatedly denied access to the presidency. They are the base of support for presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
The number was greater than half for students from ethnic groups with historically even less political power, such as the Luhya, Kamba and Kisii.
Students’ perceptions of discrimination reflected the common belief in Kenya that members of the president’s ethnic group reap social and economic benefits. Many stated that the Kikuyu and Kalenjin had advantages in society since, as one student put it, “the president and deputy come from there.”
As a result, Kenyan youth feel pressured to participate in ethnic politics despite their stated dislike of tribalism.
Accordingly, 40% of surveyed students agreed that having a co-ethnic in government was important to them.
Only 29%, however, admitted to listening to the political opinions of their ethnic or tribal leaders. This suggests that the youth accept that having a co-ethnic in power has important material benefits, while also acknowledging the dangerous effects of ethnic politics.
Thus, we have a mixed picture: Kenyan youth continue to engage in ethnic politics out of pragmatism. In their actions, they appear to be far from “tribeless”, despite widespread resentment of this system. ( — The Conversation
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