The Revolution Will Be Reposted: Digital Anti-Government Resistance Among Kenya’s Gen Z

In June 2025, thousands of young Kenyans took to the streets in one of the largest youth-led movements in the country’s history. In a wave of coordinated protests, demonstrators staged sit-ins, blocked roads, and launched nationwide boycotts targeting businesses tied to corrupt political elites. Armed with smartphones and slogans like “Raise Hope, Not Tear Gas,” and “Commander in Thief,” their message was defiant—and widely digital. 

Protests have stemmed from President William Ruto’s failure to deliver on the promises that got him elected. During his 2022 campaign, Ruto promoted himself as a “hustler president”—a leader who understands the everyday struggles of the ordinary citizen. He vowed to ease their burdens by tackling Kenya’s soaring debt, which was nearing a staggering $80 billion USD at the time. He introduced farm subsidies to lower food prices—especially maize flour—and pledged to build hundreds of thousands of low-cost homes to address urban overcrowding. He also launched youth-focused initiatives like the Hustler Fund and NYOTA, offering low-interest loans, job training, and digital work access to help young people build careers.

Yet when critical projects faltered and Ruto’s promises went unmet, initial hopes diminished. The Hustler Fund saw over 50 per cent default rates, while the housing program delivered only a fraction of its promised units. Meanwhile, Kenya’s rising public debt raised growing concerns about the country’s fiscal stability. Tensions boiled over in June 2024 when his administration introduced the Finance Bill, which imposed higher taxes on essentials like bread, fuel, sanitary products, and internet access. The backlash was swift: #RejectFinanceBill2024 exploded online, sparking mass protests on June 25, 2024, that left over 60 dead and forced Ruto to withdraw the bill.

 Even with the bill withdrawn, economic pressures remain. In 2025, in an attempt to avoid backlash, the government quietly reintroduced many of the same taxes by embedding them across different parts of the 2025 Finance Act—instead of in a single bill. These changes appeared throughout provisions on VAT, Excise Duty, and Tax Procedures, making them more challenging to track. Among them was a 16 per cent value-added tax (VAT) on essential goods like bread, vegetable oil, transport vehicles, and sanitary towels.

His strategy backfired, turning what began as outrage over taxes into a broader movement fueled by worsening economic conditions and a lack of accountability for last year’s bloodshed. Yet this time, the difference isn’t just in numbers—it’s in who’s leading the pack.  

Unlike past protests, this movement is largely driven by Gen Z—a generation grappling with high unemployment, rising living costs, and limited opportunities. An estimated 67 per cent of Kenyan youth are currently out of work. Many have turned to digital platforms, with social media enabling more to fight back.

Platforms like X, TikTok, and Instagram power the movement, helping to coordinate protests and rally support. Through hashtags like #RutoMustGo and #OccupyParliament, as well as explainer videos and AI-powered tools, Gen Z activists are boosting awareness: They circulate posts on protest etiquette detailing when to mobilize, how to respond to arrests, and what to do if detained. The #FreeToProtest campaign is a part of this effort, urging protesters to carry water to rinse off tear gas and use encrypted apps like WhatsApp for digital safety.

Protesters have been strategic and inclusive, creating educational content in both English and local languages, often shared on WhatsApp and TikTok. Some videos were even translated into sign language to ensure that deaf communities could fully understand. 

AI tools have also played a major role, with widely circulated chatbots like Corrupt Politicians GPT, created by a Kenyan known as BenwithSon on X, which exposes corruption cases involving elected leaders. When users search a politician’s name, Corrupt Politicians GPT pulls publicly available information from the web and displays a chronological list of corruption scandals, including details of each case, their outcomes, and whether the individual was prosecuted or cleared of allegations. Similarly, Finance Bill GPT, developed by Kelvin Onkundi, breaks down complex clauses in the contentious Finance Bill. Since the government reintroduced many of last year’s taxes through this year’s national budget, tools like this still help Kenyans understand how those recycled tax hikes are being implemented. 

Protesters have also turned to Zello, a walkie-talkie app that allows real-time communication to coordinate crowd movement, warn of police activity, and share live updates about danger zones. The app alerts others about tear gas, roadblocks, and even undercover officers. Zello helps them regroup when scattered and rally safely when traditional communication methods are jammed or monitored. 

Gen Z has rallied around each other with unwavering solidarity. The protesters have used platforms to crowdfund medical bills and funeral costs for those injured or killed during protests. Social media has created a culture of mutual aid, where people step up to support each other like family. 

For many young people, this fight feels like a matter of survival: “I didn’t care if I died. We have no life as it is, there are no jobs, the cost of living is high,” said Wilson, a 19-year-old from Nairobi in an interview with Context News. “We have a government that isn’t listening to its people.” Wilson’s words echo the despair of thousands, many of whom feel they have been abandoned by a system that promised them new hope—but has only delivered suffering.

The government has publicly affirmed the people’s right to protest, yet continues to deploy heavily armed police and suppress media coverage. Ruto’s administration has banned major TV stations from covering protests, forcing many broadcasters to shift to platforms like YouTube and Facebook. Outrage has intensified in the weeks since Ruto was accused of telling police not to kill protesters but to “shoot their legs so they break, and they can go to hospital on their way to court.”  

In the June 2025 protests, at least 31 were killed and over 500 were arrested. Joy, a 25-year-old student, says, “We will be out on the streets again and again. They can’t kill us all.” The youth remain resilient—still organizing, still resisting, and still imagining a better Kenya. This unwavering spirit for change contrasts with the government’s increasingly repressive response.

With elections fast approaching in 2027, the government faces a growing crisis. Young people make up nearly 75 per cent of Kenya’s population and are rapidly losing faith in the nation’s political system. Kenya’s Gen Z are the product of free schooling introduced two decades ago, and are more educated than previous generations. With unprecedented access to information and technology, Gen Z is done waiting. If the government will not give them the future they deserve, they’ll take it into their own hands.

Edited by: Hannah Lalonde

Featured Image: “A woman holds a sign against violence during a youth-led protest in Nairobi, Kenya, June 2025” by Story Zangu is licensed under Unsplash.