KUMAH-ABIWU & ABOUDI – Africa’s Gen Z Awakening: From Protests to Political Movements

Often described as apathetic, hyperconnected, and politically disengaged, the young generation has, in recent years, overturned this perception by emerging as a major political force in several parts of the world – particularly in Africa. From Senegal to Kenya, Burkina Faso to Sudan, and more recently in Madagascar, these young Africans born between 1997 and 2012, like others within this age group in the world, are known as Generation Z (Gen Z). 

Unlike previous generations of activists who relied on formal leadership and structured machinery to challenge power structures, Gen Z operates through decentralized networks – from online hashtag campaigns to flash mobs, to economic boycotts, to street occupations – for political mobilization. Hashtags such as #EndSARS in Nigeria – protesting against police brutality – and #RutoMustGo in Kenya – denouncing state corruption and economic mismanagement – illustrate their capacity to transform digital outrage into mass mobilization and protests. This generation is not content to only challenge aging authoritarian regimes, but it also questions modes of governance that are disconnected from their economic, social, and environmental aspirations. 

Unlike previous generations, the new democratic awakening through the youth-led protest movements is demanding greater transparency and accountability from Africa’s political class. The changing and complex trends of youth protests across the continent raise fundamental questions to be explored: Are we witnessing a genuine political awakening of African youth and, consequently, a redefinition of the political landscape? To what extent can these mobilizations-often horizontal and leaderless – be transformed into lasting forces for political and institutional change? 

We address these questions from two standpoints. First, we explore the explanations for the Gen Z protests across Africa in recent years. Second, we discuss the implications as well as the risks and opportunities of the youth-led protests in Africa – with a focus on Madagascar – vis-à-vis Africa’s democratic future.  

Explaining Africa’s Gen Z protests

As articulated by experts, various explanations exist for the growing youth-led protests across Africa in recent years. While the circumstances differ in each country, most discussions on the youth-led protests emphasize the growing dissatisfaction with democracy on the continent. In other words, the inability of democracy to deliver public goods for the people, especially the youth, has been articulated as a central argument for the growing dissatisfaction among African youth. In the case of Kenya, for example, Will Mortenson observes that causes such as rising prices, youth unemployment, the new tax hikes introduced in 2024, as well as political corruption, accounted for the youth protests across the country. 

While Madagascar’s situation is not too different from that of Kenya in terms of the general dissatisfaction among the youth, it is important to also note the differences in the protest outcomes – such as the policy reversals in Kenya vs. military takeover in Madagascar. As has been the case in other places, both governments came down hard on the protesters. However, President Ruto of Kenya did address the situation by withdrawing the tax hikes bill due to the intense pressure from the protesters. It could be argued that he was “politically discerning” to the demands of the people, as he stated: “I concede because the people have spoken.” Unlike in Kenya, President Rajoelina’s government was slow in responding to the demands of the protesters, who also received support from elements of Madagascar’s elite military unit, CAPSAT. Given the history of military coups in Madagascar, it came as no surprise when the military took advantage of the situation and toppled the government. 

In the case of Morocco, the “Gen Z 212” protests – 212 is the country’s international dialling code – that broke out in September 2025 were an expression of frustration with the government’s redirecting of significant resources to the 2030 World Cup rather than providing good public services to the people. Morocco is considered Africa’s most visited country. The country has many tourist sites that attract tourists from many parts of the world, but not far from many of these tourist sites, the daily reality of the country’s 37 million people is a high cost of living and stagnating wages. In their article on why the Gen Z protests were shaking Morocco, Sam Metz and Akram Oubachir noted that the country is constructing seven new stadiums and renovating seven others in preparation for the 2030 FIFA World Cup amidst challenges such as poverty, low wages, and high unemployment (36 per cent), especially among the youth. The estimated total cost of these stadiums is about US$16 billion, with Morocco’s share of this budget expected to range between US$5 and US$6 billion (equivalent to 50–60 billion Moroccan dirhams). 

Implications of the Gen Z Protests for Africa’s democracy

As previously stated, the Gen Z protesters across many parts of Africa are embracing new strategies of political mobilization through effective online social media platforms. Some experts have described the new forms of political mobilization by the youth as a decentralized digital organization through social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter. Gen Z protesters also use these social media platforms to not only register their frustrations with ruling governments about their needs, but to also seek to “disrupt” political power structures and make them more transparent and politically accountable. 

Questions are also being raised by many experts about the end goal of the Gen Z protests, especially their implications for Africa’s democratic governance. This is where Madagascar presents a good example. The protests were triggered by the arrest of two politicians on 19 September 2025. The two had planned a peaceful protest in the capital, Antananarivo, over chronic problems of power outages, water supply and corruption issues. Many saw their arrest and detention as an attempt to silence legitimate dissent, which led to a public outrage by civil society groups and the formation of a youth-led online movement known as Gen Z Mada. President Andry Rajoelina, who had been in power since 2018, was ousted through a military coup by the head of Madagascar’s elite CAPSAT unit, Colonel Michael Randrianirina. 

Holding the political class accountable for their misdeeds and inaction is not only critical in sustaining Africa’s democratic future, but the means by which this accountability is displayed should be part of the broader discourse or debates on Africa’s democratic future. We join other experts who are asking the question of whether other African leaders should be worried about the “Madagascar example”. We discuss this from two perspectives. 

First, corrupt African leaders should be worried about Africa’s changing political landscape through the power of the Gen Z protests. As Charles Ray, a former diplomat/expert on Africa captures it, the Gen-Z population in Africa will continue to raise their voices in protest to not only demand accountability from their leaders, but to also have a seat at the table of political decision-making. Second, it could be argued that violent takeovers of democratically elected governments through opportunistic adventurism or coups by military officers in the name of supporting the youth-led protests should never be the answer to Africa’s ongoing problems of democratic governance and socio-economic challenges. 

Risks and opportunities

Gen Z activism in Africa presents both significant potential democratic dividends and serious challenges that policymakers must carefully navigate. In terms of democratic opportunities, Gen Z protests are revitalizing democratic participation and renewal. Their digital mobilization strategies are expanding political participation beyond traditional elites and amplifying marginalized voices – particularly those of women and rural youth – in public discourses. Moreover, Gen Z’s mode of action ensures accountability pressure on political decision-makers. By exposing corruption, electoral fraud, and human rights abuses through viral campaigns and citizen journalism, Gen Z activists are forcing governments to respond to public demands. They have thus succeeded in decentralizing and deformalizing the oversight of government action, removing it from the purview of a specific body (legislators) into the hands of the society as a whole.

However, the risks associated with their methods remain significant. The frustrations fuelling Gen Z protests can paradoxically create openings for military interventions, as seen in Chad (2021), Gabon (2023), and Madagascar (2025). While some coups initially receive popular support as alternatives to discredited civilian regimes, military governments often prove to be equally – or more – repressive, particularly toward the young activists who welcomed their arrival. Another major risk is digital repression and surveillance. Governments could respond to Gen Z activism with intensified digital authoritarianism, including internet shutdowns, social media censorship, deployment of surveillance technologies, and criminalization of online dissent.

There is no question that the Gen Z population is shaping the political landscape of Africa as the continent enters a new phase of political turmoil of youth-led protests after the re-emergence of military coups in West Africa in recent years. Our intention is not to defend, let alone endorse, mismanagement and policy inaction on the part of those democratic African governments that have consistently failed to deliver public goods for the people. At the same time, we must acknowledge that democratic processes may be slow; they could be sluggish, and sometimes messy when delivering democratic dividends to the people. In other words, there should not be what other experts have described as “resistance of African states to good governance”. 

What Africa needs, as we recommend, is a democratic space to mature and flourish through the election of selfless and ethical leaders who will implement novel policy ideas for social and economic transformation. It is important to also acknowledge the fact that the selfless leaders we need are likely to face systemic constraints in implementing their ideas for social transformation. We have systemic constraints such as the continent’s soaring public debt, imbalanced foreign trade agreements, and external forces such as the growing dominance/influence over Africa’s critical minerals of countries such as China and the United States. It is important for African leaders and policymakers to initiate novel policies that will address the worsening socio-economic conditions on the continent, especially the high unemployment rate among the youth.  

We conclude by underscoring the point that the Gen Z population has the constitutional right to protest and voice out their concerns. However, violent takeovers of democratically elected governments should never become the new pathway or the desirable outcome of the Gen Z protest movements in Africa.