BWOMANGA: Why Kenya’s youth must prioritise voter registration: Your vote is your voice, claim it!

Kenya's youth have already shown that they can shake the foundations of power.

In June 2024, Kenya witnessed something the country had never seen before: a generation that refused silence.

The Gen Z protests were not organised by political parties, funded by billionaires, or choreographed by seasoned strategists. 

They were spontaneous, leaderless, and brutally honest. Young people who are jobless, overtaxed, overburdened, and underrepresented took to the streets because they understood a simple truth: decisions made today will shape the rest of their lives.

They paid for that awakening with blood, abductions, trauma, and intimidation. Yet even after the tear gas cleared, the cost of living has continued to rise, school fees have remained out of reach, jobs have stayed scarce, SHA is not working, and corruption is marching on with a familiar arrogance. The same old political class, the same old networks, the same old excuses.

And to add salt on top of injury after a string of by‑elections across the country; in Karachuonyo, Nyamira, Western, Central, and Eastern, most of which were won by UDA, Kenya Kwanza leaders publicly declared that Gen Z "does not vote." This is a convenient narrative, one that has shifted responsibility away from leadership and placed blame squarely on the Gen Zs.

But here is the truth: you cannot accuse young people of failing to vote when millions of them are not even on the voter register.

Kenya has millions of unregistered young people who are angry, disillusioned, and desperate for change. They are the ones caring for their aging parents, paying rent, hustling for survival, and watching their future shrink under the weight of economic mismanagement. They are not apathetic. They are invisible in the only place that matters during an election: the voter roll.

That is why the push to register more than five million new young voters is not just a political strategy, it is a national turning point. It is the only realistic path to shifting the balance of power from the old order to the generation that will inherit the consequences of today's decisions.

If political leaders are serious about change, they must abandon the tired "Wantam" slogans and embrace a single, unified message everywhere they go: Register as a voter. Not tomorrow. Not next year. Now!!

Every leader has a role to play in this moment. Kenya is standing at a crossroads, and the youth cannot walk this path alone. Those with national platforms, political experience, and public influence must step forward and use their voices where it matters most: in mobilising voter registration.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, whose speeches often electrify crowds, can redirect that energy toward a message that transcends party lines--a call for young people to claim their democratic power. 

Former Interior CS Fred Matiang'i, whose reforms shaped the schooling years of today's Gen Z, carries a unique credibility with the very generation now demanding change. He can speak directly to the young people who remember the discipline, order, and stability of his tenure, reminding them that their future depends on showing up in the voter register.

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who has repeatedly lamented election losses by margins as small as 200,000 votes, can turn that painful history into a rallying cry: "We lose because those who want change are not on the register." His message, grounded in decades of political experience, can help young people understand the power of numbers — and the cost of absence.

When the Sifuna‑Babu mobilization machinery finally hits the ground, their message should cut through all the political noise and focus on one instruction: register. Because the moment young people register, everything changes. A registered youth stops being a statistic and becomes a political force. A registered youth cannot be dismissed as "noise on social media," because their name on the voter roll gives them real influence over their parents' choices, over their community, and over the direction of the country. A registered youth can protect their ballot, defend their future, and help break the cycle of recycled leadership, looting, and bribery that has held Kenya back for decades. Registration is not paperwork; it is power.

By December 2026, Kenya could have millions of newly registered, deeply frustrated, politically awakened citizens ready to express their democratic power on August 10th, 2027. The youth have already shown they can shake the streets, but now they must shake the voter register, because registration is the moment everything shifts. It is the moment you stop being dismissed as "noise" and become a voice that cannot be ignored, a voice that counts, a voice that shapes the future rather than watching it unfold from the sidelines.

And yes such a wave will send chills through President William Ruto government that has grown comfortable. Not because of violence, not because of chaos, but because the youth will finally exist where it matters most: on the voter register, in the numbers that decide the direction of a nation. That is the fear. That is the power. That is the point.

In the end, the revolution that began in the streets will not be won with hashtags or tear gas. It will claim its victory at the registration desk; quietly, legally, decisively.

By Job Nyangenya Bwomanga -  Eminent Peace Ambassador - UN