Last Fri­day I par­tic­i­pat­ed in the pop­u­lar ear­ly morn­ing TV show “Muon­go­zo,” host­ed by the respect­ed Debarl Inea, and it was a pro­found­ly engag­ing expe­ri­ence. The ques­tions he asked were thought-pro­vok­ing, and as I respond­ed along­side my col­leagues, it became clear that the issues we face as a nation are com­plex and mul­ti­fac­eted. Today I choose to dis­till my respons­es dur­ing the TV show into a brief nar­ra­tive that address­es the crit­i­cal chal­lenges fac­ing Kenya today and pro­pos­es action­able solutions.

First­ly, we must acknowl­edge the gen­er­a­tional hous­es that define our nation. The House of Tra­di­tion­al­ists, from the Great­est Gen­er­a­tion (born 1901–1927), laid the foun­da­tion­al val­ues and struc­tures post-inde­pen­dence. The House of Boomers (born 1946–1964), grow­ing up amidst eco­nom­ic expan­sion and social upheaval, advanced tech­nol­o­gy, and edu­ca­tion. Gen­er­a­tion X, or the House of X (born 1965–1980), bridged the pre-dig­i­tal and dig­i­tal eras, inte­grat­ing new tech­nolo­gies into every­day life. Final­ly, the com­bined House of Y (born 1981–1996) and Z (born 1997–2012), com­pris­ing Mil­len­ni­als and Gen­er­a­tion Z, are dig­i­tal natives who cham­pi­on social jus­tice, envi­ron­men­tal sus­tain­abil­i­ty, and innovation.

In my opin­ion, these four gen­er­a­tional hous­es inter­act with our four polit­i­cal cat­e­gories, reveal­ing diverse moti­va­tions and per­spec­tives. Some seek great gov­er­nance for pos­ter­i­ty, focused on trans­paren­cy and sus­tain­abil­i­ty. Oth­ers chal­lenge Pres­i­dent Ruto’s legit­i­ma­cy due to per­ceived elec­toral irreg­u­lar­i­ties. Anoth­er group views lead­er­ship as a means for per­son­al or com­mu­ni­ty gain. Final­ly, some are staunch Ruto sup­port­ers, tied to him for per­son­al or eco­nom­ic survival.

Sec­ond­ly, the top­i­cal issues in Kenya today high­light the dis­con­nect between lead­er­ship and the youth­ful pop­u­la­tion. The medi­an age in Kenya is 19.6 years, yet my find­ings are that the aver­age age of our lead­ers is between 50–60 years. This gen­er­a­tional dis­con­nect fuels feel­ings of alien­ation and demands for change, as evi­denced by the recent demonstrations.

The eco­nom­ic chal­lenges lead­ing to the uncom­fort­able high cost of liv­ing we face are mul­ti­fac­eted. Painful­ly, eco­nom­ic mis­man­age­ment has his­tor­i­cal­ly favored short-term gains over long-term sta­bil­i­ty, rely­ing heav­i­ly on exter­nal bor­row­ing with­out robust plans for diver­si­fi­ca­tion. Cor­rup­tion remains per­va­sive, under­min­ing trust and hin­der­ing devel­op­ment, while inequitable devel­op­ment has left rur­al areas lag­ging urban centers.

Third­ly, we must address these issues with com­pre­hen­sive solu­tions. Eco­nom­ic reforms are cru­cial. We need to diver­si­fy our econ­o­my by invest­ing in tech­nol­o­gy, man­u­fac­tur­ing, and cre­ative indus­tries. We must pri­or­i­tize fis­cal respon­si­bil­i­ty, man­ag­ing pub­lic debt and ensur­ing sus­tain­able growth. Tax reform should sim­pli­fy the sys­tem, broad­en the base, and reduce the bur­den on essen­tial goods.

Anti-cor­rup­tion mea­sures are equal­ly impor­tant. We need to strength­en insti­tu­tions to empow­er inde­pen­dent anti-cor­rup­tion agen­cies and enhance trans­paren­cy through e‑governance. Pro­mot­ing pub­lic account­abil­i­ty by mak­ing all gov­ern­ment con­tracts and expen­di­tures pub­licly acces­si­ble is vital.

Inclu­sive devel­op­ment is essen­tial for all regions to ben­e­fit. We should focus on equi­table resource allo­ca­tion in infra­struc­ture, health­care, and edu­ca­tion in under­served areas. Youth engage­ment is cru­cial, with ini­tia­tives like youth coun­cils, intern­ships, and civic edu­ca­tion to involve the younger gen­er­a­tion in gov­er­nance and policy-making.

Fourth­ly, we need to rec­og­nize that the issues we face today are the result of cumu­la­tive fail­ures over time. The rains start­ed beat­ing us from far. It is not sole­ly about Pres­i­dent Ruto; it is about mil­lions of small prob­lems that we neglect­ed. For exam­ple, Kenya’s stan­dards for hon­ey allow the addi­tion of sug­ar, lead­ing to health issues and under­min­ing the poten­tial of rur­al farm­ers. More fake hon­ey is import­ed because it fits our stan­dards, while gen­uine local hon­ey strug­gles to compete.

To address these chal­lenges, I pro­pose my ICE approach—Innovation, Col­lab­o­ra­tion, and Empow­er­ment. By fos­ter­ing inno­va­tion, we can devel­op sus­tain­able solu­tions tai­lored to our unique needs. Col­lab­o­ra­tion between gov­ern­ment, pri­vate sec­tor, and civ­il soci­ety will ensure that efforts are uni­fied and effec­tive. Empow­er­ment, espe­cial­ly of the youth and mar­gin­al­ized com­mu­ni­ties, will dri­ve inclu­sive growth and development.

Ulti­mate­ly Kenya stands at a cross­roads. By acknowl­edg­ing our gen­er­a­tional hous­es and polit­i­cal cat­e­gories, address­ing the widen­ing age gap, and imple­ment­ing robust solu­tions, we can pave the way for a pros­per­ous future. “Tuan­guke nayo” ! Think green, act green!