Digital Insurgency and Narrative Sovereignty: Social Media, Gen Z Activism, and the Remaking of Political Discourse in Kenya
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
Abstract
The 2024 Kenyan Finance Bill protests marked a structurally novel episode in African political history: a leaderless, tribeless, and digitally organized youth movement that successfully compelled a sitting government to reverse a major legislative initiative. Existing scholarship has focused predominantly on the mobilization mechanics of this movement, examining how platforms such as TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and WhatsApp enabled coordination and participation. This paper moves beyond mobilization analysis to examine a less theorized dimension: the active construction, contestation, and partial suppression of autonomous political discourse through competing digital regimes. Drawing on Bennett and Segerberg’s logic of connective action, Entman’s framing theory, and Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, this paper introduces an original conceptual framework termed Platform-Mediated Narrative Sovereignty (PMNS), defined as the capacity of non-state political actors to establish, sustain, and defend their own terms of public discourse through digital platforms against organized state counter-narrative efforts. Through a critical synthesis of published empirical studies, Amnesty International documentation, and institutional policy analyses, the paper examines three analytical planes: activist narrative construction, platform-differentiated discourse logics, and the state counter-narrative apparatus. The analysis reveals that while Kenyan Gen Z activists achieved a remarkable short-term narrative victory, the state’s systematic deployment of troll networks, coordinated disinformation, and tech-facilitated surveillance produced a chilling effect that constrained the durability of that victory. The paper argues that PMNS is inherently contested, temporally bounded, and structurally asymmetric in contexts where state actors possess superior technological and financial resources. These findings carry implications for theorizing digital civic participation, democratic governance, and freedom of expression across the African continent.
Publish Your Research in This Journal
Open Journal of Social Sciences and Literary Research welcomes original research submissions on related topics.
- Double-blind peer review
- First decision in 3–4 weeks
- DOI assigned on publication
- Open Access — free to read
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##
References
Akondo, A. O., Ugangu, W., & Mutwiri, D. I. (2026). Memes as Digital Activism Tools For Political Accountability in Kenya: A Study of Tiktok and X (Formerly Twitter) During the 2024 Finance Bill Protests. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 10(3), 3908–3919. https://ideas.repec.org//a/bcp/journl/v10y2026i3p3908-3919.html
Amnesty International. (2025). “This fear, everyone is feeling it”: Tech-facilitated violence against young activists in Kenya (Report No. AFR 32/0471/2025). Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/AFR3204712025ENGLISH.pdf
Bennett, W. L., & Segerberg, A. (2023). Chapter 19: The logic of connective action: digital media and the personalization of contentious politics. https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/book/9781800377585/book-part-9781800377585-30.xml
Bhattacharya, S. (2026, January 28). Policy Lessons From Africa’s Gen Z Uprisings. Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Orfonline.Org. https://www.orfonline.org/research/policy-lessons-from-africa-s-gen-z-uprisings
Brevis, C. (2022). Communicative freedom in a digital democracy: Political and economic resistance to freedom of speech and the rise of digital activism in South Africa. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36576
Brown, R. (2024, September 3). The People Have Spoken: African Youth and the Kenyan Finance Bill Protests. Wilson Center. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/people-have-spoken-african-youth-and-kenyan-finance-bill-protests
Bwire, V. (2024). Youth Engagement in Policy Making: Assessing Perspectives from Kenyan Parliamentarians, Civil Society, and the Youth [Linnaeus National University]. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-132392
Carter, S. (2024, June 26). Deadly protests over Kenya finance bill prompt President William Ruto to drop support for tax hikes—CBS News. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kenya-protests-2024-finance-bill-president-ruto-drops-support-for-tax-hikes/
Castells, M. (2015). Networks of outrage and hope: Social movements in the Internet age (Second edition [revised]). Polity press.
Entman, R. M. (2002). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. In D. McQuail (Ed.), McQuail’s Reader in Mass Communication Theory. SAGE.
Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. Routledge. http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/1270
Howard, P. N., & Hussain, M. M. (2013). Democracy’s Fourth Wave?: Digital Media and the Arab Spring. OUP USA.
Ingutia, B. C. (2025). The Impact of Social Media in Shaping Kenya’s Politics: Gen Z Uprising and the Rejection of the Finance Bill 2024. African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research, 1(1), 47–68. https://doi.org/10.71064/spu.amjr.1.1.2025.332
James, O. A. (2025). Comparative Analysis of Online Advocacy for Good Governance and Actual Political Involvement among Nigerian Youths. International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research, 3(4), 459–488. https://www.ijssar.com/paper/comparative-analysis-of-online-advocacy-for-good-governance-and-actual-political-involvement-among-nigerian-youths
Kapiyo, V. (2025, March 4). Kenya’s Digital Crossroads: Surveillance, Activism, and the Urgent Fight for Digital Rights in 2025. Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA). https://cipesa.org/2025/03/kenyas-digital-crossroads-surveillance-activism-and-the-urgent-fight-for-digital-rights-in-2025/
Kariuki, T. N., & Gichanga, R. (2025). Social Media Coordination as a Strategic Messaging Platform for Political Advocacy in Kenya: A Case Study of Kenya’s Gen Z uprising in 2024. African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research, 2(2), 100–124. https://doi.org/10.71064/spu.amjr.2.2.2025.430
Khaemba, E. (2024, December 17). Framing Gen Z Protests Against the 2024 Finance Bill in Kenya: A Linguistic Assessment of TikTok. Kujenga Amani. https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/17/framing-gen-z-protests-against-the-2024-finance-bill-in-kenya-a-linguistic-assessment-on-tiktok-2/
Kumah-Abiwu, F. (2026, April 21). KUMAH-ABIWU & ABOUDI - Africa’s Gen Z Awakening: From Protests to Political Movements - The Elephant. The Elephant. https://www.theelephant.info/analysis/2026/04/21/africas-gen-z-awakening-from-protests-to-political-movements/
Lee, D. (2025). The Impact of Generation Z on Kenya’s 2024 Finance Protests. Journal of Student Research, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v14i1.8611
Mayabi, I. (2026). Gen Z’s electoral dilemma. Africa Is a Country. https://africasacountry.com/2026/02/gen-zs-electoral-dilemma
Mbunga, M. (2025, July). Gen Z and the spirit of Mau Mau. Africa Is a Country. https://africasacountry.com/2025/07/gen-z-and-the-spirit-of-mau-mau
Munoriyarwa, A., Moyo, D., & Chuma, W. (2025). Historicizing Digital Journalism in Africa: Actors, Processes and Proliferation. In B. Mutsvairo & K. S. Orgeret (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Global Digital Journalism (pp. 57–72). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-59379-6_4
Mutunga, W., & Khalifa, K. (2026, May 18). The Gen-Z Uprising in Kenya: Digital Dissent and the Struggle for a New Civic Order. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. https://gjia.georgetown.edu/human-rights-development/the-gen-z-uprising-in-kenya-digital-dissent-and-the-struggle-for-a-new-civic-order/
Mwaura, J. (2024, June 22). Kenya protests: Gen Z shows the power of digital activism - driving change from screens to the streets. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAJ.xdhcm4tht
Njuki, E., Mbaka, N., & Atieno, C. (2024). Hashtag Activism: Examining #RutoMustGo and #RejectFinanceBill in Showcasing Kenyans on X as an Imagined Community of Language Users. OALib, 11(10), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1112256
Okibe, S. (2024). Young, Brave, and Unyielding: Kenyan Youths Fight Over the Controversial Financial Bill. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 7(7), 146–153. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v7i4.2212
Onyango, M. (2025). The Missing Leaf: Kenya’s Youthful Demonstrations -A Comprehensive Analysis of the Gen Z Revolution [Master’s Thesis, Maseno University]. https://www.academia.edu/130396845/The_Missing_Leaf_Kenyas_Youthful_Demonstrations_A_Comprehensive_Analysis_of_the_Gen_Z_Revolution
Shilaho, W. K., & Monyae, L. (2024, August 29). Kenya’s Historic Gen-Z led Protests: The Issues. ACCORD. https://www.accord.org.za/analysis/kenyas-historic-gen-z-led-protests-the-issues/
Shoki, W. (2025, September 20). Kenya’s Gen Z Protest Movement Is Preparing to Govern. Jacobin. https://jacobin.com/2025/09/kenya-oyoo-left-alliance-gen-z
Tonui, F. C. (2026, April 14). Peaceful Dissent or Security Threat? State Responses to Youth-led Protests in Kenya (2023– 2024). ACCORD. https://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/peaceful-dissent-or-security-threat-state-responses-to-youth-led-protests-in-kenya-2023-2024/
Tufekci, Z. (2017). Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. Yale University Press.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2015). Critical Discourse Analysis. In D. Tannen, H. E. Hamilton, & D. Schiffrin (Eds.), The Handbook of Discourse Analysis (pp. 466–485). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118584194.ch22
Wamuyu, P. K. (2020). Analyzing Global Social Media Consumption. IGI Global.
Zuckerman, E. (2014). New Media, New Civics? Policy & Internet, 6(2), 151–168. https://doi.org/10.1002/1944-2866.POI360
Zuckerman, E. (2022). Mistrust: Why losing faith in institutions provides the tools to transform them. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##
Article metrics
- Abstract Views 390
- PDF Downloads 0
- Total Engagements 390
How to Cite
How to Cite
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.