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In and out of elections, young Kenyans are an important political cohort. People between the ages of 18 and 35 make up about 30% of the population and nearly 40% of registered voters in the 2022 election.

According to World Bank estimates, nearly 20% of young Kenyans were not employed or in education in 2019, a frustration that can influence their political views. The COVID-19 pandemic likely worsened the situation with respect to prisons in 2020 and 2021.

None of the major political parties and alliances presented a clear vision for young people in the current elections. Instead, the electorate was treated to the traditional election campaign menu of implicit ethnic animosities and accompanying fears of politically motivated violence.

In the country’s last election in 2017, then 23-year-old university student Shikoh Kihika started using the hashtag #TribelessYouth in response to hateful, discriminatory messages she saw on social media. In 2017, more than a quarter of Kenyans were on social media. It is likely that fake news and other online messages designed to instill fear and ethnic resentment contributed to the violence we witnessed in this election.

Kihika’s call for unity among Kenyan youth was widespread. However, a lasting change in behavior is more difficult to detect.

Social media is once again being used to spread divisive content ahead of the August 2022 elections.

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Some messages are designed to instill fear and disrespect and create a narrative that Kenyans need to defend their ethnic communities.

Are these tactics resonating with young Kenyans, or is there hope for a more “tribeless” political generation?

We set out to examine the political attitudes of Kenyan students, particularly their views on the use of ethnicity in politics.

We found that most Kenyan students do not like ethnic politics in principle. However, the pressures of tribal life are hard to ignore.

This suggests that the pattern of ethnic voting and violence in Kenya will be difficult to break, especially while concerns of ethnic discrimination and exclusion persist.

The students we surveyed broadly supported institutional reform aimed at increasing power-sharing and inclusion in the Kenyan government, but these changes may be difficult to achieve.

What the youth say

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Our survey of University of Nairobi students to assess their views on democracy and ethnicity was conducted in August 2018.

We surveyed 497 students aged 18-35 less than a year after the 2017 general election. It is important to note that our results may have been colored by the 2017 election and that young people’s views may have changed since our survey. The views of students may also differ from those of young people as a whole.

Of the students we surveyed, 97% identified primarily as Kenyans, choosing their national identity over their ethnic one. One third stated that ethnicity remained an important part of their daily lives; 47% said he played a minor role or none at all.

A majority (84%) agreed with the statement that tribal identities do more harm than good to Kenyan politics. More than one student said:

Many students, however, felt that ethnic discrimination had a negative impact on their lives and politics. More than a third (38%) stated that members of their group had been disadvantaged because of their ethnicity.

That number rose to almost half among students from the Luo ethnic group, who were repeatedly denied access to the presidency. They are the basis of support for the presidential candidate Raila Odinga.

The number was more than half that of students from ethnic groups with historically even less political power, such as the Luhya, Kamba and Kisii.

Student perceptions of discrimination reflected the general belief in Kenya that members of the president’s ethnic group benefited socially and economically. Many students stated that Kikuyu and Kalenjin have advantages in society because, as one student put it, “the president and vice president come from there.”

As a result, Kenyan youth feel compelled to participate in ethnic politics despite their dislike of tribalism.

The big fear is that if we don’t take care of ourselves, no one will take care of us.

Accordingly, 40% of the surveyed students agreed that it is important for them to have a co-conspirator in the government.

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Moving beyond ethnic politics

However, only 29% admitted to listening to the political opinions of their ethnic or tribal leaders. This suggests that young people accept that having a co-ethnic in power has important material benefits, but at the same time they recognize the dangerous effects of ethnic politics.

So we have a mixed picture: Kenyan youth continue to engage in ethnic politics out of pragmatism. On the same subject : QU Announces Recipients of Art Scholarships for Fall 2022. They seem to be far from being “tribeless” in their actions, despite the general dissatisfaction with this system.

How a country like Kenya can move past ethnic politics is something that scholars and politicians have long tried to understand. We don’t have many new answers from our research. However, Kenyan students echo many of the solutions proposed by scholars.

For example, students in our survey cited problems with Kenya’s winner-take-all electoral system.

They suggested ways to increase power sharing and inclusion, such as inter-ethnic exchange of positions.

Kenyan university students have a good understanding of liberal democracy and the reforms needed to overcome ethnic divisions. They also support further constitutional reforms to create a less polarized system.

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