It will mark a year since we witnessed the rise of political consciousness from a generation that has been overlooked in politics for longer than is necessary. The streets of Kenya echoed with the voices of a generation refusing to remain silent. From Nairobi to Kisumu, Nakuru to Eldoret, Thika to Mombasa, Gen Z rose up, not with party slogans or tribal banners, but with a resounding demand for transparency, accountability, and a new kind of leadership.
The outrage was clear. Their courage, even more so.
But beyond the protests and the placards lies a deeper, more urgent question: What are we doing to prepare young people to not only challenge leadership, but to become it?
The truth is, leadership does not begin in adulthood, and it certainly does not begin at the ballot box. It starts in classrooms, in homes, and in the daily interactions that shape a child’s sense of agency and responsibility.
What we saw was more than civil disobedience; it was civic awakening. A generation raised in the digital age, exposed to global conversations about justice and power, finally turned their gaze inward, toward their country, their government, and their future.
They spoke. They organized. They acted.
But activism, no matter how bold, cannot replace the long, deliberate work of cultivating leadership. If our response to this awakening is limited to shock or praise, we miss the opportunity to create lasting change.
If we are to break the cycle of leadership failure, we must stop treating leadership education as a “later” issue. Because leadership is not a title waiting in adulthood. It is a skill, a practice, a mindset, and it begins early.
- When a child is taught to think critically and ask questions, they are learning leadership.
- When students work in teams, mediate conflicts, or stand up for a peer, they are practicing leadership.
- When schools center values like integrity, empathy, and responsibility, they are planting the seeds of ethical leadership.
If we wait until university or the workplace to talk about leadership, we are already too late. The young leaders we saw marching last year were shaped long before they took to the streets.
Everyone has a role to play.
- Educators must go beyond academics to foster courage, initiative, and civic responsibility in the curriculum.
- Parents and caregivers must model leadership at home in how they resolve conflict, participate in community life, and treat others.
- Communities must create safe, inclusive spaces where young people are seen, heard, and trusted to lead.
Leadership development is not a programme; it is a culture. One that must be lived consistently across a child’s world.
What Kenya Needs Now
Kenya does not just need leaders who can speak loudly; it needs leaders who can listen deeply, think critically, collaborate across differences, and act with integrity. These are not traits developed overnight. They are nurtured through education, mentorship, and consistent exposure to values that prioritize service over self-interest.
If we are serious about a better Kenya, we must be serious about leadership education as early education.
Conclusion: Prepare Them Before the Streets Do
What we saw last year was powerful. But imagine a future where young people do not have to fight their way into leadership conversations—because they have been prepared from the start to take their place at the table.
Leadership is not for later. It’s for now. And it starts with how we raise, teach, and trust the next generation.
This is a thoughtful piece with many relevant interrogations of our current social environment and our education system from top to bottom. This is a term so frequently debated: leadership. It encompasses myriad notions and invites so many opinions. Sometimes, when discussing leadership, are we really talking about leadership or are we talking about the whole gammit from civic responsibility of us all, to the practice of leaders? Sometimes, when discussing leadership, should we be talking simultaneously about supporting and promoting leadership of others and methods of congregating around leaders and the type of support we could and should (in very varied ways) be giving them? What does it take on the part of the community/nation to strengthen leaders and to participate with them in their governance? How can we develop teams that leaders can rely on? How to re-imagine political parties that would not disappoint GenZees? What are the stragegies for the second quarter of the 21st century for transforming a (currently purposively) shapeless movement into a focused action oriented one?
Then WERK, have there been shared discussions on the necessarily (?) of the changing role of WERK or the possibility of research on new topics in the light of GenZee events? Since WERK is an education, gender focused research organisation, the question might be: Does WERK have a post-2024 new research question to delve into, with the purpose of effecting what type of action culminating in what type of shift for the education of girls? What do GenZees say in terms of speaking to and guiding WERK on this? How does WERK respond?
Thank you for stimulating us to share questions.
This is a thoughtful piece with many relevant interrogations of our current social environment and our education system from top to bottom. This is a term so frequently debated: leadership. It encompasses myriad notions and invites so many opinions. Sometimes, when discussing leadership, are we really talking about leadership or are we talking about the whole gammit from civic responsibility of us all, to the practice of leaders? Sometimes, when discussing leadership, should we be talking simultaneously about supporting and promoting leadership of others and methods of congregating around leaders and the type of support we could and should (in very varied ways) be giving them? What does it take on the part of the community/nation to strengthen leaders and to participate with them in their governance? How can we develop teams that leaders can rely on? How to re-imagine political parties that would not disappoint ourselves or GenZees? What are the strategies for the second quarter of the 21st century for transforming a (currently purposively) shapeless movement into a structured, focused action oriented one?
Then WERK, have there been shared discussions on the necessarily (?) of the changing role of WERK or the possibility of research on new topics in the light of GenZee events? Since WERK is an education, gender focused research organisation, the question might be: Does WERK have a post-2024 new research question to delve into, with the purpose of effecting what type of action culminating in what type of shift for the education of girls? What do GenZees say in terms of speaking to and guiding WERK on this? How does WERK respond?
Thank you for stimulating us to share questions.