Rap Session On Youth Leadership And Political Participation

The Rap Session On Youth Leadership And Political Participation held on the 20th of November, explored the role of youth leadership and political participation in Kenya’s democratic process. Youth remain the largest demographic constituency and therefore are a political force that can constructively drive the political agenda in Kenya.

The session brought together national leaders from the Executive Office of the President, Youth Ministry and other functions of government along with the youth to discuss these pertinent issues. These issues are even more urgent given the upcoming general elections in 2022.

The 2007 general elections highlighted Kenya’s failures to engage its youth constituency effectively in political, governance and electoral processes. Building trust between young people and democratic institutions is critical as young people make up a substantive part of the overall Kenya population. Around 75% of Kenya's 48 million people are below the age of 35, according to the county's 2019 census. 

Young people in Kenya’s political landscape, therefore, represent the largest demographic unit and political constituency. There is a strong need to create opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalized groups, in particular young people, to avoid conflict and violence in the future and to build inclusive societies. Young people’s inclusion and addressing disenfranchisement is therefore not only a socioeconomic imperative but also key to preserving stability and building peace. In this context, there has been a renewed impetus for reforms in the inclusion of young people and political participation from the government and from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The government has been making an effort to promote youth participation in governance. For instance, Article 55 of the Constitution elaborates on the rights of the youth and their contribution to national development. It places an obligation on the state to take measures, including affirmative action programmes to ensure that young people have access to education, training and opportunities for association, representation and participation in political, social, economic and other spheres of life.

Article 100 further charges Parliament with an obligation of enacting legislation to promote the representation of women, persons with disabilities, youth, ethnic and other minorities, and marginalized communities in Parliament. There is also a provision for young people in governing bodies. For example, Article 98 of the Constitution states that the composition of the Senate must include 47 members, two of which must represent the youth. Moreover, the Kenya National Youth Policy has been designed to recognize the needs and concerns of young women and men and attempts to address issues affecting young people to enable them to reach their maximum potential. 

Kenya´s National Youth Council as established through the National Youth Council Act in 2009 is mandated to coordinate youth organizations, design and continuously review the National Youth Policy. In addition, Kenya has also ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, legal provisions and existing initiatives are far from enough in improving young people’s political engagement and participation. 

There is some evidence that young people’s formal political participation has been improving. Voter participation was notably high during the 2013 elections with an 85 percent turnout. In terms of youth registration, initial figures at the beginning of the registration drive indicated some voter apathy among young Kenyans.

According to the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC), they appeared non-responsive to political campaigns and continuous voter registration programmes. Only about 57 percent of the eligible youth were registered during the last registration drive prior to the 2013 presidential elections, leaving approximately 43 percent of the eligible not registered. According to the IEBC, the figures could have been higher. More than three million eligible voters were not registered because they did not have the national identity card (ID) required by the Elections Act.

There is also evidence that the young people were heavily engaged in electoral malpractices. For example, about 46 percent of rural young people and 41 percent of urban young people were reported to have sold their ID Cards to individuals representing politicians’ interests so as to increase the latter’s chances of winning an election.

Since the 2013 elections, the IEBC has further sought to strengthen its capacities for young people’s engagement and also develop conflict mediation programmes throughout the country that focus on young people. Key areas for electoral reforms ahead of the 2022 General Elections have also been identified namely; voter registration and in particular the registration of Kenyans residing outside the country, the rights of prisoners to vote, the nomination process, dispute resolution process and election petition management. All these will in one way or the other impact positively on the cause of young people by making them aware of political participation processes.

The first session was graced by Mukhtar Abdi Ogle, EBS, OGW, Secretary, Strategic Initiatives: Cabinet Affairs; Executive Office of the President. Bwana Mukhtar was cognizant of the fact that the event was timely and arises from a concern expressed about the issue of youth participation in elections and the reality that youth make up 75 percent of Kenya’s population, and hence require added attention to ensure that they participate and remain confident in electoral processes.

He noted the call among young people for their inclusion in all deliberations that affect them: ‘about us, with us’. He noted that the integration of young people into mainstream politics is important, as historically young people have demonstrated dynamism and an ability to lead societies and effect changes that are beneficial to all.

To encourage future-oriented reflections, he postulated that the session needed to reflect on participation at all stages of the electoral cycle. He emphasized that it was particularly important for there to be legal frameworks that encourage participation and to ensure that the youth are engaged with to secure their voices within elected representative structures. He concluded by re-emphasizing that youth inclusion was a substantial imperative as young people can be central to shaping more productive and functional societies.

Deborah Bubi represented the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Innovation, ICT and Youth Affairs. She demystified the functions of the Youth Ministry and encouraged as many young people as possible to participate at different levels. She reiterated the fact that the National Youth Council are upcoming and we needed to ensure as many young people are also involved in the process as it generally feeds into what happens in the general elections. Deborah challenged the young people to elect people who have young people interests at heart who will push and champion the youth agenda.

The Executive Director of The Youth Café, Willice Onyango was also part of the guests. Willice highlighted that advancement in technology has brought about a new digital age which has prompted the masses to shift to social media in order to voice their opinions. However, these platforms are powerful tools that can be used for both good and evil. There have been several instances that have negatively impacted the electoral process due to fake news.

With the advancement of newer ICTS and social media platforms, youth can easily be mobilized and manipulated to actively engage in election-related violence. These violent activities have been to some extent as a result of misinformation and disinformation on different social media platforms. The Media has equipped political leaders and civil society to mobilize and spread information during election cycles, but it has also been used to incite hatred and violence in previous elections. This is a result of the internet’s wide reach and common use of social media.

The second session was graced by Joel Mwita who is the Chairperson of IEBC Youth Coordinating Committee, Joyce Akello from the IEBC, Eric Nyamwaro Head of Secretariat, Out of School Youth Science, Technology and Innovation (OSYSTEI) Programme, Michael Ashura who sits at the board of Youth Advisory Council and moderated by Stella Agara. The panelists gave recommendations on how young people should be encouraged to participate in the electoral processes. Some the pertinent issues and recommendations put forth include:

1. Young people are afraid of the stereotypes being perpetrated and have a lot of mistrust in IEBC: there is a need to demystify the IEBC mandate and this was done well in Majengo through a football match.

2. IEBC needs to conduct an intense voter education campaign targeting young people.

3. Demystify the perception that the elections will not be free and fair: Can be done through social behaviour change communication; IEBC can continue to communicate areas where people can register as voters; Young people without IDs need to be sorted out; IEBC can do a rapid assessment to see why youth NEET did not participate in the registration.

4. Incorporate modern technology in voter registration; take the registration to where the young people are instead; leverage on concerts, party areas etc. to get young people registered; IEBC to support the stakeholders to move around and congregate young people.

5. IEBC should think of having youth champions from different counties who will spearhead voter education to ensure continuity.

6. IEBC should equip YCC resources and ensure the social media platforms help in disseminating the information of the young people.

7. IEBC should revamp campaigns to ensure that people get to elect other important grassroots leaders: Take advantage of “sherehez” to drive voter registration.

8. Take the voter education to the grassroots levels; Make the campaign youthful to attract more young people; Take the voter registration on where young people are; Have clerks going door to door to do the voter registration.

The third session was focus group discussions on Breakout 1:  Supporting young aspirants: What can be done to better support young aspirants in the political process? Breakout 2:Registering youth to vote: What can be done to increase voter registration amongst young people, Breakout 3: Developing a Youth Manifesto: How can a Youth Manifesto help to deepen youth engagement in the political process and Breakout 4:Political Accountability between elections: How can young people play a greater role in the political and democratic process between election cycles.

The panel presentations and breakout group sessions produced practical ideas that the youth would like to implement in order to strengthen youth political participation. Some of these include:

1. Support the IEBC and Ministry of Innovation, ICT and Youth to further democratize the campaign to get young people registered to vote for the upcoming 2022 elections.

2. Explore ways to support increased funding and fundraising for youth aspirants to allow them to have a greater chance of competing and succeeding against older more seasoned candidates.

3. Work with The Youth Café and other youth stakeholders groups and organizations to deepen the substance of the ‘Youth Manifesto’ and increase its use to influence political agenda going into the 2022 elections.

The Youth Café works with young men and women around Africa as a trailblazer in advancing youth-led approaches toward achieving sustainable development, social equity, innovative solutions, community resilience and transformative change.

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