Two years after the demonstrations that briefly reordered the national conversation, it's worth being honest about how little the political establishment has actually adapted to the generation that drove them.
Symbolic Gestures, Structural Inertia
There have been visible symbolic gestures — younger appointees in some government communications roles, more social media engagement from official accounts. But the structural entry points into political life — party nomination processes, campaign financing, the informal seniority systems within parties — remain largely unchanged.
Young Kenyans who organized effectively outside formal party structures in 2024 have, for the most part, not been absorbed into those structures since. Some have deliberately stayed outside them, skeptical that formal politics can accommodate the kind of leaderless, issue-based organizing that defined the protests.
A Question Worth Sitting With
If the political class continues to treat 2024 as a crisis that was managed rather than a signal that was received, it should not be surprised when the next generational flashpoint arrives with even less patience for the old ways of doing things.
