At a political rally in the lakeside city of Kisumu, Hellen Atieno joins her countrymen in dancing to a well-known campaign jingle that has the Kenyan crowd on their feet.
But don’t count on the 23-year-old to cast a ballot.
“I’ve only attended the rally because it’s financially rewarding. I’m hoping something will happen.
Atieno told AFP, referring to the common practise in Kenya of giving away free things to potential voters.
The former fishmonger, who is currently jobless, says she will abstain from voting in Kenya’s parliamentary and presidential elections on August 9 because she is so tired of the nation’s closed-off political establishment.
She’s not by herself.
The East African economic powerhouse is one of the world’s youngest nations; according to government statistics, 75% of Kenyans are under the age of 34.
Many people have no desire to take part in an election that is widely regarded as being dishonest and useless.
According to data released by Kenya’s election commission last month, the number of young voters who have registered to vote has decreased by 5% since the 2017 election, while the number of voters over 35 has increased.
Young people make up less than 40% of the over 22 million Kenyans eligible to vote this year, according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
“A shady game”
In response, politicians have gone on a freebie binge, handing out cash, umbrellas, t-shirts, caps, and even packets of maize flour, a staple food, to rally attendees.
The use of bribes in elections is a crime punishable by a fine of up to two million shillings ($17 000) and/or a six-year prison sentence in Kenya.
However, a severe unemployment crisis and galloping food inflation, which has been made worse by the conflict in Ukraine, have increased the demand for such handouts.
Five million young Kenyans were unemployed, according to census data released in 2020.
Despite not intending to vote and considering politics to be little more than “a dirty game,” Brian Denzel, a 19-year-old butcher, has spent the past few weeks attending rally after rally in an effort to cash in on the money being offered.
Who will refuse the free money that is offered to them?
While standing in line to get 200 shillings ($1.70) from a local official, he said.
Even Kenya’s interior minister, Fred Matiang’i, told reporters on Wednesday that politicians were buying villagers with 100 and 200 shilling notes.
In the months before the elections, observers hypothesised that the youth factor, with a younger electorate less likely to vote according to ethnic affiliations, could help Kenya’s frequently toxic tribal politics.
However, young Kenyans lack “ideological steadfastness” in addition to having less of a tribal mindset.
Francis Owuor, a political analyst based in Kisumu, spoke to AFP.
“There isn’t that conviction that usually comes with the political process,” said Owuor.
Everyone is to blame for this, including the people and the leaders, but since they are the ones who have the responsibility, they must shoulder a large portion of the blame.
Disillusioned
Thirty years after the emergence of multi-party democracy in Kenya, many are disillusioned by constant battles over the credibility of polls and disputed election results.
This year’s presidential vote is largely a two-horse race between Deputy President William Ruto, 55, and Raila Odinga, the 77-year-old veteran opposition leader who is now backed by the ruling party.
If the results are accepted by both presidents, it will be a first for the nation since 2002.
Amina Soud, the IEBC’s manager for voter education, told AFP that the election body was “worried” about the growing disinterest among young people in politics.
“Voter apathy was too high despite all the mobilisation we did during registration using all these tools,”
Soud mentioned the IEBC’s use of social media to recruit new voters.
However, encouraging young people to vote through TikTok campaigns or comics in Sheng, a popular local vernacular among urban millennials, offers little to give optimism to a generation of Kenyans dealing with out-of-control inflation, corruption, and unemployment.
“I don’t think I’ll cast a ballot,”
Irene Awino Owino, a 27-year-old salon owner, spoke to AFP.
Because the government prioritises itself over us, I have no interest.