This week, as Pres­i­dent William Ruto addressed city res­i­dents, the streets of Nairo­bi paint­ed a pic­ture more pow­er­ful than any speech. The brazen theft, ruth­less mug­gings, and law­less­ness hap­pen­ing in broad day­light, in full view of the Head of State, were not just crimes. They were a raw mes­sage from Kenya’s dis­il­lu­sioned youth, a cry from a gen­er­a­tion aban­doned by the sys­tem that promised them hope.

My heart broke as I watched a Mus­lim man clutch his wife’s hand as they were stripped of every­thing. The ter­ror in their eyes mir­rored a nation on the brink. On Thi­ka Road, shat­tered win­dows and stolen pos­ses­sions told the same sto­ry. How much longer before des­per­a­tion erupts? No police force can stop a youth that has lost hope.

Just as despair crept in, a dif­fer­ent mes­sage emerged. The Africa Youth Lead­er­ship Forum (AYLF) released a report titled “Under­stand­ing the Sta­tus of Youth Par­tic­i­pa­tion in Key Gov­ern­ment Areas,” fund­ed by the Dan­ish Gov­ern­ment and offer­ing a glim­mer of hope. The report exposed a truth long ignored — Kenya’s youth are not vio­lent by nature or crim­i­nals by choice—they are sim­ply unheard.

The loot­ing and defi­ance of the law were not mere­ly acts of crime; they rep­re­sent­ed des­per­ate protests — a mes­sage that must not be over­looked. This report reveals Kenya’s oppor­tu­ni­ty to trans­form that cry of des­per­a­tion into mean­ing­ful change.

First, youth par­tic­i­pa­tion in gov­er­nance remains dis­mal. Despite form­ing the major­i­ty, 73% do not engage in coun­ty gov­er­nance or bud­get­ing, and 85% feel unrep­re­sent­ed. The few youth MCAs that exist rarely engage with their con­stituents. This exclu­sion leaves young peo­ple pow­er­less over poli­cies that shape their future.

Sec­ond, polit­i­cal apa­thy and dis­en­gage­ment are grow­ing con­cerns. Six­ty-five per­cent do not belong to any polit­i­cal par­ty, cit­ing cor­rup­tion and a lack of trust in the sys­tem. Fifty-sev­en per­cent have nev­er received vot­er reg­is­tra­tion edu­ca­tion, and while 88 per­cent plan to vote, many feel their vote will not change any­thing. This dis­il­lu­sion­ment threat­ens democracy.

Third, cor­rup­tion and fear of report­ing are deeply embed­ded. While 87% deny engag­ing in cor­rup­tion, 14% admit to it, cit­ing sur­vival and nor­mal­ized bribery. 56% know cor­rupt indi­vid­u­als but fear report­ing them due to lack of trust in author­i­ties and threats of retal­i­a­tion. If young peo­ple see cor­rup­tion as sur­vival, isn’t Kenya’s moral fab­ric unraveling?

Fourth, lim­it­ed civic edu­ca­tion and aware­ness of the Con­sti­tu­tion dis­con­nect youth from gov­er­nance. While 34% read the Con­sti­tu­tion only when nec­es­sary, 28% have nev­er read it. Fur­ther­more, 73% believe the Office of the Reg­is­trar of Polit­i­cal Par­ties does not edu­cate cit­i­zens about polit­i­cal par­ties, which hin­ders informed par­tic­i­pa­tion. With­out legal aware­ness, youth remain sus­cep­ti­ble to manipulation.

Fifth, bar­ri­ers to youth rep­re­sen­ta­tion con­tin­ue to hin­der progress. Poli­cies designed to uplift youth large­ly remain unknown. Over 60% lack knowl­edge of any youth poli­cies enact­ed by their coun­ties. Worse yet, coun­ty gov­ern­ments have failed to pri­or­i­tize youth employ­ment, edu­ca­tion, and lead­er­ship. If young peo­ple are not includ­ed in the solu­tion, they will become part of the problem.

This moment in Kenya’s his­to­ry is more than an out­cry from the oppressed. It is a test of whether the nation will lis­ten. If we fail to act, the chaos on the streets will esca­late as pre­vi­ous­ly seen. If lead­ers ignore young peo­ple, today’s mug­gings will devel­op into a full-blown crisis.

But there is hope. AYLF has demon­strat­ed that youth want to be engaged, empow­ered, and heard. Kenya must act now. Youth rep­re­sen­ta­tion in gov­er­nance and bud­get­ing must become the stan­dard. Civic edu­ca­tion and vot­er par­tic­i­pa­tion must be strength­ened so that every young Kenyan under­stands their rights. Trans­paren­cy and account­abil­i­ty must enable cit­i­zens to report cor­rup­tion with­out fear. Lead­ers must involve youth in gen­uine dis­cus­sions; nat­u­ral­ly, the youth must reg­is­ter as voters!

The vio­lence in our streets is not the prob­lem. It is a symp­tom. Let’s empow­er our youth or watch them fight against a bro­ken sys­tem.’Tua­jibike.’ Think green, act green!