After the protests, how can Kenya’s Gen Z fuel the Singapore dream?

When Kenyan youth poured into the streets during the Gen Z-led protests of 2024, their message was direct. They wanted dignity, accountability and a future that works. 

The protests cut through years of political indifference and showed, unmistakably, that young people were paying attention and were willing to act.

For a moment, the country had to listen.

But once the crowds thinned and the streets went quiet, a harder question emerged: what happens after the protests end?

That question featured in a recent episode of the Youth Assembly Platform (YAP), where young Kenyans debated the country’s much-talked-about “Singapore dream”,  and whether Gen Z is ready for the kind of responsibility that dream demands.

“If everyone is building for themselves, for what works for them individually, who builds what works for everyone?” Betty Njeru, one of the hosts, asked.

It was less a philosophical question and more a reality check.

For Chimwani Chitayi, one of the guests on the podcast, the protests were important, but they were never enough on their own. 

They proved that young people could organise, mobilise and force their way into the national conversation. What they did not do was solve the harder problem of governance.

“At the end of the day, that responsibility lies with us. But it’s also the leaders,” Chimwani said.

In his view, protests create pressure, but change only lasts when that pressure is carried into systems, voting, leadership, institutions and everyday accountability. That work, he noted, is slower, messier and far less exciting than marching in the streets.

Protest creates urgency. Governance requires patience.

One of the most uncomfortable parts of the discussion was whether it is fair to expect young people to think about the nation when many are struggling to survive.

Youth unemployment remains high, and many graduates,  even those with master’s degrees, are stuck without stable work. Against that reality, being told to think “long-term” or “first world” can feel out of touch.

Chimwani did not sugarcoat it.

Still, the panel pushed back on the idea that hardship cancels civic responsibility. Young people already make tough choices by leaving rural homes, taking security jobs, working long hours in unstable conditions,  just to get by.

“The drive is there,” Chimwani said. “But not everyone is willing to make the sacrifice.”

The deeper issue, he argued, is how society defines dignity. Too often, contribution is measured by status rather than effort.

“Are people willing to say, ‘Maybe me feeding into this vision is me being the best watchman I can be?’” he asked.

Singapore and China came up often in the conversation, not as fantasies, but as examples of discipline and long-term planning.

But for many young Kenyans, the Singapore dream feels distant. Development stories often seem limited to Nairobi and Mombasa, while large parts of the country remain left out. 

That disconnect feeds scepticism, especially when sacrifice appears unrewarded.

“If I were to say let me go mashinani and do my part, I don’t really trust that my part will even matter,” Chimuan said.

Without trust, even good ideas struggle to take root.

Wahu Tracy, a communications graduate and youth representative from Kikuyu, acknowledged the growing trust gap between young voters and leaders.

“We give you that seat, but when you get there, you become totally different people,” she said.

Still, she argued that accountability cannot only flow upwards. Change, she said, is built slowly, by young people taking responsibility where they are, even before power shifts.

“You start small and build foundation upon foundation,” she said.

The panel also discussed why essential jobs are undervalued in Kenya. In countries that work, nurses, teachers and technicians are respected and paid accordingly. In Kenya, many leave.

“Those same nurses would rather go to Australia or Canada than toil here,” Chimwani noted.

The conversation turned blunt when elections came up.

Chimwani recalled how voters were often placated with small handouts during elections, like soda and bread, and noted that such tactics make it hard to overcome bad leadership..

He urged Kenyans to look past the giveaways and vote responsibly, as if their children’s future depended on it.

It summed up a key Gen Z problem: high political awareness, but weak follow-through at the ballot.

Frustration with democracy also surfaced, including the temptation of strong, directive leadership.

“We are the type of populace that needs that push,” Chimwani said, speaking more out of frustration than ideology.

But even that idea runs into the same wall, trust.

As the episode wrapped up, Tracy pointed to what she believes Kenya keeps ignoring.

“We take our constitution for granted,” she said. “We have it for a reason, but we play with it.”

For Gen Z, the generation that protested, questioned power and forced national conversations, the next phase will not be loud or dramatic. 

It should be slow, frustrating and unglamorous. Voting consistently, holding leaders accountable and staying engaged even when change feels distant.

The Singapore dream, the panel suggested, is not about copying another country. It is about whether Gen Z can turn protest energy into long-term civic muscle. And that kind of work does not trend.