In this second instalment of our exclusive serialisation of Illusions of Democracy: A Political Memoir by former minister, lawmaker and Governor Kiraitu Murungi , he examines Ruto's populist rise, and what the Opposition and Gen Z's need to do to have a lasting impact.
The book Illusions of Democracy: A Political Memoir by Kiraitu Murungi pictured at Nation Centre in Nairobi on October 10, 2026.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
The August 2022 electoral victory by President William Ruto was an electoral mass uprising. The election had all the characteristics of classical populism.
UDA leaders divided the Kenyan society into two groups: The ordinary people (hustlers), and the elite (dynasties). This directly appealed to the poor and the marginalised, who felt ignored and excluded by the powerful, out-of-touch political elite, which did not understand, protect, or care about the interests of the masses. UDA leaders sensationally whipped up the emotions of the poor, the marginalised, poverty-stricken, unemployed youth and petty traders, (mama mboga and boda boda operators). They capitalised on poor people’s frustrations, anger, and resentment, and created a national political frenzy which swept UDA into power.
Ruto has projected himself as a visionary transformational leader with a dream of turning Kenya into Singapore. He has embarked on ambitious projects in infrastructure, housing, health, and youth economic empowerment, but he is yet to fulfil his extravagant promises: poverty alleviation, universal health care, free education, rule of law, and empowerment of mama mboga and boda boda operators. Various reports of mega corruption and dysfunctional health and education systems, and ghost services have caused a general sense of cynicism, resentment and widespread discontent among Kenyans, especially the youth.
Two years after the elections, an internal conflict broke out in UDA and the Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua , was shown the door through a highly politicised impeachment process. He brought together other Ruto insiders from the Mt Kenya region, like Mithika Linturi and JB Muturi, who were also ejected from Ruto’s government. Together with leaders of opposition parties like Kalonzo Musyoka , Fred Matiang’i, Peter Munya, Wamalwa [Eugene], Martha Karua , and George Natembeya, they have created a new populist alliance against President Ruto.
The Alliance has held highly emotionally charged rallies across the country, stirring the people to rebel against the very administration they had brought into power. Though embattled, they have become energised, emboldened, defiant and more aggressive against Ruto and his government. They have inundated the media and social media with messages and images depicting Ruto as a liar and a corrupt dictator who does not deserve a second term as president.
President William Ruto addresses 12,353 UDA aspirants for the 2027 General Election at State House, Nairobi on April 23, 2026.
Photo credit: PCS
The opposition is united in protests against Ruto and his failure to address endemic poverty, unemployment, corruption, bad governance repression, and extrajudicial killings. By the time of publishing this book, they had, however, not articulated a unified vision for the future. Neither had they provided Kenyans with an alternative political programme specifying the concrete measures they would adopt to address intractable challenges such as corruption and unemployment. Some of those in the opposition are known reactionaries, devoid of any clear progressive ideology or a transformative agenda.
Some of them are angry and bitter for losing prime cabinet positions and opportunities for looting. They are solely driven by greed and revenge.
If our past political experience is anything to go by, it will be difficult for the Alliance to survive in its present form or to agree on a joint presidential candidate, which is critical for them to win the next elections. Past political alliances have been shallow and deceptive. They have collapsed and ended up in betrayal and bitterness. Even if the Alliance wins, it would be naive to expect that the old order will be swept away overnight in one grand sweep, or that the current problems will simply wither away.
Any hope for a progressive democratic transformation in Kenya lies with the youth. Professor John Keane in his book, The Shortest History of Democracy (2023), talks about the rise of a new type of democracy known as monitory democracy. This is a form of democracy defined by the rapid growth of many new kinds of extra-parliamentary scrutinising “guard dog, watchdog, and bark-dog” institutions, which keep governments, parliaments, and politicians permanently on their toes.
These power-challenging institutions organise public protests against corruption, repression, discrimination, and other abuses of power and are the most vibrant democratic forces today. Monitory democracy usually seeks regime change through non-violent people-power mass protests, demonstrations and civil disobedience. The Gen-Z revolution falls in this category.
Historically, all revolutions in the world have been youth-driven. It is the youth who have the imagination, the energy, and the courage to venture and cross into the unknown. In their recent book On Revolutions (2022), Collin J. Beck and his co-authors write about the New Age Revolutions , which are different both in substance and form, from revolutions in earlier historical periods. Whereas in the past violence was a necessary component of a revolution, New Age Revolutions are usually unarmed people-power uprisings based on non-violent civil resistance, protests, mass demonstrations, and non-cooperation with authorities. They operate outside the conventional mechanisms of democratic change through the ballot.
Their preferred mechanism is the street protest. These revolutions don’t start in remote rural areas. They largely take place in high-density urban areas. They don’t have grandiose utopian ideas like overthrowing capitalism or implementing a radical transformation of society. They have a more limited vision, and more modest goals, such as removal of a bad leader, reduction of corruption and unemployment, and preventing human rights abuses. Some have even sought to restore electricity and internet connectivity.
They challenge exclusion, exploitation, and social injustice but within a framework of non-violent radical constitutionalism.
The Gen Z protests in Kenya in June 2024 fall squarely within the parameters of the New Generation Revolutions. Gen Z is the digital generation born between 1997 and 2011. They declared themselves tribeless, partyless, and leaderless. They are a product of our education system, which annually churns out thousands of youths with academic certificates, the majority of whom are unemployed, and whose futures remain uncertain. This system annually produces its own enemies, an army of idle, frustrated, young men and women who hate the regime with a passion because it has no place for them. They daily express their outrage through various social media platforms.
Gen Z have energy, an irresistible pull, and numerical strength. They are digitally networked and inspired by the global Gen Z revolutions in other parts of the world. However, the Gen Z revolution only achieved limited success because of our deeply entrenched network of security forces, the culture of poverty, and cash handouts. We had underestimated the potential of money politics to bribe, co-opt, infiltrate, and confuse the Gen Z.
Social media tools used by Gen Z were captured by forces of repression and used to undermine democracy. A recent report by Amnesty International documented in detail how the State weaponised Kenya’s digital infrastructure during the 2024 and 2025 protests and used social media, SIM card data, AI-generated content and mobile networks to intimidate, monitor, hunt down and silence dissent. As the Daily Nation put it, the very tools and platforms that had given birth to the Gen Z movement were used to dismantle it.
The Italian philosopher, Umberto Eco, warned that social media has sparked an amplification of ignorance. Social media politics usually lacks depth, and is more emotional rather than programmatic. It has reduced politics to mere sound bites and entertainment. It is more about visibility, online fame, political stardom, and celebrity politics. This has given comedians and rockstars a competitive edge in politics. Backward forces have used social media to spread gossip, hatred, ignorance and even stupidity. Some politicians have tried to recruit the youth into ethnic bigotry. The Gen Z struggle is not immune to the usual challenges of political struggle; resource constraints, betrayals, sabotage, struggle fatigue and burnout.
The formlessness, leaderlessness and partylessness are fundamental weaknesses of the Gen Z struggle. As the recent people’s revolutions in Sudan and Madagascar clearly show, popular struggles without clear leadership and organisational structures can end up in tragedy and recycled authoritarianism. Plagued by leadership wrangles and internal divisions, the Sudan people’s revolution was unable to break Omar Bashir’s authoritarian structures. This led to a governance vacuum which was filled by Bashir’s military and the RSF, whose civil war, repression, and dictatorship has made Sudan the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
While the Gen-Z digital activism has greatly expanded the space for political participation and democratic renewal, questions abound as to whether it was a fleeting eruption of youth anger or a modern vehicle of democratic change.
Social media has provided Gen Z with a voice which had been previously suffocated and drowned. There is now a strong sense of political consciousness among the youth who have been traditionally apolitical and disengaged.
Digital dissent activism is, however, not enough to remove an entrenched system from power. It is impossible to remove a president constitutionally, outside the framework of political parties and the structures of electoral democracy. Perhaps, Gen Z could learn from the Y’en a Marre movement and work within the framework of political parties and electoral democracy to do both online and offline mobilisation of voters, to effect a democratic regime change through elections.
The Tuko Kadi Movement, a youth-driven digital and offline voter registration campaign marks a significant turning point in Kenya’s youth political culture. It seeks to challenge the narrative of apathy and transform the youth from passive keyboard activists to grassroots political mobilisers.
Youths outside the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission offices in Mombasa during the 'Niko Kadi' voter registration campaign on March 24, 2026.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
The campaign is a decentralised, leaderless, hashtag movement based on peer-to-peer mobilisation, and is suspicious of any politicians trying to hijack it. Tuko Kadi is not just about procedural registration of voters. Its strategic aim is to empower the youth to capture state power through the ballot. While the idea is a noble one, it remains vulnerable to money politics and elite capture. The movement is an expression of youth anger against economic hardships and bad governance. Without an organisational structure and a clear unifying ideology, the movement might be a transient episodic electoral moment. It might achieve symbolic victories without any real change of the system.
All this still begs the question: “Who will pull the youth out of poverty and exclusion?” A determined, progressive Executive will be necessary if any radical transformation is to be expected. We should however not be naive. Endemic problems such as corruption and unemployment cannot be solved by a mere stroke of the pen. No leader however young and well-intentioned can transform this country overnight. These problems will still persist.
Experience has shown that social transformation is not caused merely by a sudden dramatic fall of a regime. It is a slow process, which comes piecemeal in a progressive, incremental manner. Grim battles for democracy and social transformation will still have to be fought in this country long after Ruto exits the political scene. Democracy is a story without an ending. It is an ideal which will never be fully achieved. But it is an ideal worth striving for; a journey which must be endlessly resumed and continued by our children and our children’s children.
The book, published by Queenex Publishers, will be launched on Friday.
