By Victor Bwire and Marvin Bwire
The digital age has immensely reshaped and expanded the space for youth in Kenya to access the negotiation table, even as deliberate attempts are made by the ruling class to exclude them from national conversations. Commentary and framing of national issues, and even private matters that may not merit public attention, including those protected under data protection laws, now influence the national agenda through digital platforms.
These platforms have become central spaces where individuals, especially young people, express belonging, challenge dominant ideologies, and forge new forms of collective identity. Phrases such as “tribeless” and “leaderless” now feature prominently in national discourse, forcing those in the communications sphere to redefine their strategies to better include youth in political engagement.
Through hashtag activism, viral storytelling, whistleblowing, humour, and meme-making, young Kenyans have asserted their right to participate, contribute, and, more importantly, set the public agenda. Youth are co-producing content that shapes discussions across locations, communities, and tribes. Commentary on national issues is no longer the preserve of politicians, religious leaders, or government actors. Instead, it is co-produced, contested, and circulated through platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, WhatsApp, and YouTube, which transform ordinary users into active authors of national meaning.
Youth in Kenya are actively constructing new forms of digital nationalism, popularly known as Kenyans on X (KOX), that challenge state-centric identity narratives and demand greater accountability, justice, and civic participation. Unlike in the past, when nationalism was promoted through formal institutions, state rituals, public education, and domestic media, these top-down forms of civic socialization increasingly fail to resonate with a generation shaped by global cultural flows, economic uncertainty, and heightened digital literacy.
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As the country’s largest demographic group, Kenyan youth are reshaping public interest issues, including nationalism and patriotism, by rejecting dominant identity narratives that reinforce ethnic blocs, elite interests, and corruption. Instead, they use digital platforms to articulate inclusive, fluid, and civic-minded forms of belonging.
Within these digital arenas, young Kenyans negotiate their relationship with the state, critique corruption, mobilize around social justice causes, and build solidarities that transcend ethnic and regional divisions. They are not merely expressing dissatisfaction; they are generating a new form of digital civic nationalism grounded in transparency, equality, democratic participation, and shared responsibility for Kenya’s future.
Youth use hashtags as rallying points for collective sentiment, dissent, and mobilization, transforming online agitation into widespread protests. These tools enable young people to narrate grievances, document state violence, share logistical information, and articulate alternative visions of democratic accountability.
Live streaming, real-time fact-checking, and crowdsourcing of events enable youth to counter official government narratives, attract global attention, and promote accountability. The digital public sphere thus fosters a shared national experience grounded in participatory politics rather than ethnic or partisan affiliations. At the same time, digital platforms have facilitated the rise of whistleblowing as a civic practice, allowing Kenyans to expose corruption, challenge opaque state decisions, and defend the public interest. Such actions break traditional gatekeeping by government and other institutions, redefining national loyalty not as fear of the state but as the defence of public assets and transparency.
Memes have also emerged as a distinctive mode of political expression and national identity formation among Kenyan youth. By remixing political symbols, national imagery, and public figures into humorous or satirical content, memes critique authority and foster shared political consciousness. Their viral nature allows them to bypass traditional media control and reach large audiences quickly.
These forms of digital remix culture further amplify youth participation in national identity formation by enabling creative reinterpretation of political content. Young Kenyans remix and repurpose speeches, political events, and media clips into humorous edits, music videos, and commentary. This creative reworking bypasses traditional media hierarchies and allows them to produce alternative narratives that challenge state control over national meaning.
Youth activists detained for opposing criminal gangs or state agencies often use digital platforms to document their experiences in real time, prompting public outrage and galvanizing demands for transparency.
Ultimately, digital platforms have become powerful spaces for imagining, contesting, and reshaping what it means to belong to a nation. Kenyan youth, shaped by global connectivity, economic challenges, and heightened political awareness, are using online tools to create new forms of nationalism that prioritise transparency, justice, equality, and civic participation. The Kenyan case illustrates broader global shifts in how digital generations are reimagining national belonging, making it a valuable example for understanding identity formation in the digital age.
Victor Bwire is the Director, Media Training and Development at the Media Council of Kenya
Marvin Bwire is an MA student in Global Media and Innovation
