Kenya’s GenZ: A Headless Chicken Fighting for Change

By Alpha Amadu Jalloh, the author of Monopoly of Happiness: Unveiling Sierra Leone’s Social Imbalance, and Recipient of the Africa Renaissance Leadership Award 2025

I recently read with keen interest an article in the Kenyan Standard titled The Betrayers of GenZ. The piece laid the collapse of Kenya’s GenZ protests squarely at the feet of the old guard, particularly Raila Odinga. While the frustration expressed is understandable, the argument misses the mark. Blaming Raila Odinga for the failure of GenZ is like blaming the wind for the collapse of a house that had no foundation. It is convenient, but it does not address the real problem.

Let me be clear. Raila Odinga has long been a master of political trade. He is a man who has navigated the corridors of power for decades. He has perfected the art of turning popular movements into bargaining chips for personal or political gain. But to blame him for the failure of the GenZ uprising is to ignore the real culprit. That culprit is GenZ itself. A generation that had the numbers, the energy, the technology and the global attention but squandered it due to lack of organisation and strategy.

When I visited Kenya a few months ago to receive the Africa Renaissance Leadership Award, organised by Scholar Media Africa, I took time to engage people on the streets of Nairobi. I spoke to taxi drivers, vendors, students, professionals and ordinary citizens. I deliberately sought out young people who identified as part of this so-called movement. What I found was sobering and deeply disappointing. There was no real movement. There was no structure. What existed was what I can only describe as a headless chicken fighting its last battle. It was loud, chaotic and directionless. There was passion in abundance but purpose in short supply.

I recall asking one young man, “Where is your office or headquarters so I can speak to your leaders?” He laughed and replied, “Oh, we don’t have an office. We don’t do leadership structures.” Another said, “We are all leaders. We don’t believe in hierarchy.” I could not help but think. Really? What serious revolution or lasting change has ever been achieved without structure, without leadership, without strategy? Even spontaneous uprisings that have succeeded in history quickly evolved into organised movements with vision and strategic plans of action.

Even the greatest freedom fighters of our continent understood that passion without organisation is doomed to fail. As the respected Professor P. L. O. Lumumba might say, “You cannot function like a headless chicken and expect to arrive at your destination.” A headless chicken may flap about and make noise, but in the end it exhausts itself and achieves nothing of value.

The GenZ protests had passion. That is undeniable. But passion alone cannot sustain a movement. As one young woman in Nairobi admitted to me, “We didn’t think about what comes next. We just wanted to act.” That sadly was the beginning of their end. They became easy prey for infiltration, division and manipulation. Raila Odinga and William Ruto could not have wished for a better scenario. Here was a mass of angry, uncoordinated youth, making noise but lacking focus. It was child’s play for the political establishment to divide them, co-opt them and ultimately neutralise them.

This is why the narrative that Raila betrayed GenZ is not only a distraction but a dangerous one. Yes, Raila Odinga, ever the political trader, did what he knows how to do best. But the GenZ left the door wide open. They handed him the key. They created the vacuum that he and others rushed to fill. As one observer put it during my visit, “You can’t blame the fox for entering the henhouse when the door was left ajar.” The GenZ did not just leave the door open. They left the entire compound unguarded.

Let us remember that it was the GenZ themselves who demanded that the old guard step aside. That viral video of a young woman telling Raila to move over and let them determine their own future was a powerful moment. It was inspiring. And yet, somehow, despite their calls for self-determination, Raila still managed to cut a deal with Ruto that left the GenZ in the cold. The irony is painful, but it is a lesson that must be learned. Revolutions are not won by slogans. They are won by strategy.

As I spoke to young Kenyans I kept repeating one message. “You must organise or you will agonise.” There is no shortcut to change. Hashtags will not build a nation. Tweets will not deliver justice. Online noise must be matched by offline structure. Social media can raise awareness but it cannot replace the hard work of institution building, creating mechanisms of accountability, training leaders and engaging communities.

One frustrated university student told me, “We thought the energy of the people would be enough to force change. We thought wrong.” Indeed, energy without direction only burns itself out. Another said, “We underestimated how far the system would go to divide us.” These are hard lessons but they must not be in vain.

It is time for Kenya’s GenZ to look inward. As the old African proverb says, “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot harm you.” The GenZ must stop crying over spilt milk and start building the structures necessary for real change. Offices, leadership teams, manifestos, civic education and alliances with other progressive forces are not luxuries. They are necessities. Without them, there is no movement. Without them, there is only noise.

I admire the courage of Kenya’s youth. Their refusal to accept injustice is inspiring. Their energy is a force that, if properly channelled, can reshape the nation. But courage without planning is like fire without control. It burns everything, including the hands that lit it. If the GenZ want to reclaim their future they must stop pointing fingers at Raila or Ruto. They must build from within. The change they seek will not come from those who have already made peace with the status quo. It will come from their own hard work and sacrifice.

Kenya’s future does not lie in the hands of old men who have mastered the art of survival at the expense of progress. It lies with young people who are bold enough to reimagine the nation and disciplined enough to build the structures to make that vision a reality. As Nelson Mandela once said, “A vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”

Kenya’s GenZ must choose. Will they continue as a headless chicken, flapping wildly but going nowhere? Or will they become an organised force capable of transforming the nation? As one street vendor told me, “If the youth do not wake up, these old men will keep playing them like a drum.” The choice is theirs. The time is now. The future will not wait forever.