How Social Media is Redefining Kenya’s Political Landscape

Last year there has been a surge in the use of social media to criticize the government which has led to abduction of critics by “unknown” masked men.

Kenyans have been ranked number one in the number of hours spent on social media each day, spending up to 3 hours 43 minutes a day.

This statistics shows that most Kenyans are well informed in matters of governance and their rights. As witnessed during the Gen X protests in June, which were mobilized and coordinated in social media platforms like X and Tiktok, it’s becoming clear that technology is playing a crucial role in civil education and championing  human rights.

X, which is arguably the number one free speech platform, has been heavily used to criticize the Kenya Kwanza regime for its failure to fight corruption, extra judicial killing and violation of human rights.

Many X users have fired salvos at President William Ruto with some sharing AI generated photos and cartoons to mock him. This has however led to daylight abduction and disappearance of seven young people who are believed to be behind the silhouette photos of the president.

Their disappearance has angered fellow youths, opposition politicians, religious leaders and human rights groups, who took to social media to demand their release. However, none of the abductees have been released despite the raging hashtags calling upon the government to set them free. The Kenya Kwanza leaders have however denied their involvement in the abduction with police saying that they don’t know their whereabouts.

Recently, the head of state promised to end the abduction, adding that parents should discipline their children. 

“What has been said about abductions, we will stop them so Kenyan youth can live in peace, but they should have discipline and be polite so that we can build Kenya together,” Ruto said.

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The president’s X account has been raided by the young people who have taken to his timeline to demand for the release of abducted Kenyans.

One X user by the name Eng Mokogoti, replying to the president’s new year wishes to Kenyans urged the president to release the abductees.

“Release those boys you abducted Mr president, those hustlers are the ones that vote for you, don’t be heartless, their parents are hurting,” he wrote on X.

Another X user by the name Brian Oduor downplayed Ruto’s new year message saying that the parents of the abductees are in anguish following the disappearance of their children.

“Someone still [has] the audacity to dance to the New Year tunes and celebrations,  while the parents of the abductees are going through anguish over the whereabouts of their children?” he wrote of X.

Clearly, social media has become a battleground where the youths fiercely attack and demand accountability from the government. This is shaping the political landscape as many people scroll through social media to see what’s happening.

In July last year Ruto convened an X space to engage with the youth who participated in anti-finance bill protest in a bid to understand their grievances. This is an indication that social media is becoming a new battleground in Kenyan politics.