Many of the grievances of Kenya’s Gen-Z, young people who took to the streets in late June, have been palpable for years.
I witnessed these during field research as a social anthropologist studying land, livelihoods, urbanisation and electoral politics in Kiambu County, which borders Nairobi to the north and west. I spent nearly two years there between 2017 and 2022, most of it living with Kikuyu-speaking households which voted overwhelmingly for President William Ruto in 2022.
Based on my field research, it’s clear to me that the present cost-of-living crisis isn’t new. I witnessed poor families struggling to raise school fees and funds to build homes, regularly falling into destitution. In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, economic fortunes have worsened and families have struggled to cover their basic food needs.
