Let's use the fire, creativity from young leaders to fight corruption

Wednesday’s celebration of one of the nation’s most important teenagers, the Constitution of Kenya 2010, was remarkable. 2024 saw one of the fiercest battles for constitutionalism yet.

A renewed focus on the cancer of corruption in all public spaces accompanied this week’s celebrations. Looking past the current Parliament and Executive shouting match, it maybe the Gen Z spirit that offers us a new governance culture that is a match for our constitutional values.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission 2023 Ethics and Corruption Survey places corruption as the most pressing issue after the high cost of living, jobs, and poverty. Kenyans are at most risk passing through roadblocks and entering police stations, county and land offices for services in that order. Ironically, while most of these public spaces are likely to flaunt “Corruption-Free Zone” signs, their actual integrity is no better than those “massage spas” signs in Nairobi.

Despite 5,475 days since its enactment, the legal, operational, and cultural barriers choking CoK Chapter 6 on Leadership and Integrity remain the same. High profile cases suffer from passive investigation and reluctant prosecution. Evidence is deliberately not gathered or lost, witnesses are insufficiently protected, and cases are allowed to drag on in the hope that “someone from above” will stop them.

Legal loopholes and lenient penalties are introduced to destroy and deter economic crimes from being a high-risk serious crime. Reading the rot, citizens normalise their own powerlessness, corruption as a way of life and become complicit in bribery. 

Recognising that the cost of whistleblowing is often higher than the cost of stealing, whistleblowers learn to watch, say nothing and feel their conscience corrode from within.

The President’s “parliamentary bills for bribes” accusation seems to have been met with genuine hurt and anger. Ironically, many MPs have “defended” themselves, saying this as a long-standing practice enabled by the Executive itself. From the outside, it’s unclear whether this is a strategic move to rally Parliament ahead of key privatisation bills or a sign that MPs’ appetites have become too costly. If not a pre-election leadership purge, it may be a reminder that while “side-hustling” was once tolerated, MPs must now rein in. Either way, I find little in this new development that will eliminate corruption. Instead of watching the nation decay, what if we drew inspiration from Kenya’s largest social movement? What if we saw the leaderful, tribeless and decentralised Gen Z(ote) not just as resilient and disruptive protesters, but as a blueprint for a new civic culture?

Activism by young leaders has directly challenged traditional political structures and exposed several governance failures over the last year. From inflated budgets, exorbitant travel and refreshments, fake fertiliser scandals to police brutality and unaccountable parliamentary processes, citizens have flexed a new political sensitivity coupled with formidable skills and tools. Young leaders must turn their sights on both national and county level corruption. By building and promoting digital accountability platforms, they can help their communities track public spending, expose procurement irregularities, and monitor county budgets. Software applications and websites like those used during the 2024 and 2025 Finance Bill protests can be repurposed for county governance.

Over the last year, young leaders smashed past a decade of disregard and denial of civic education by both Jubilee and Kenya Kwanza administrations. By occupying social media platforms they have broken down complex policy issues, educated peers on their rights, and spotlighted corrupt practices in real time. Governance and human rights is now popular culture.

Creative protest and artivism has re-emerged. Could music, fashion, poetry, memes and street art become a new public pressure point that keeps corruption in the spotlight? However, without community level organisation and county watchdogs that attend public participation forums, audit development projects, and report abuses to oversight bodies, this consciousness will lead to cynicism.

Citizens can play an active powerful role to stop the looting of public resources. Our youth have provided a new blueprint for civic culture and rights-based governance. Let’s use it.
 irungu.houghton@amnesty.or.ke