In recent months, Africa’s youngest generation—Gen Z (typically those born between 1997 and 2012)—has ignited a series of decentralized, digitally driven protests across the continent. Starting with Kenya’s explosive anti-tax demonstrations in 2024, the movement spread to Madagascar in September 2025, and reached Morocco shortly after. These uprisings, often leaderless and amplified via social media platforms like TikTok, Discord, and X (formerly Twitter), reflect deep-seated anger over economic inequality, corruption, unemployment, and government priorities that favor elite projects over basic services. Africa’s median age is just 19, making youth the demographic powerhouse—over 60% of the population in many countries—fueling calls for accountability and reform. What is your most up-to-date and in-depth assessment?
AF-100, Chief of Africa:
Here’s a current, grounded assessment of Africa’s new wave of youth activism — driven by Gen Z — its strengths, risks, limits, and what it likely means going forward. If you want, I can also sketch out possible trajectories for specific countries.
What we know so far
- Drivers / Grievances
- Basic services (electricity, water) failing or unreliable. Madagascar is a recent and stark example: long power outages and water cuts sparked mass protests. TIME+4Reuters+4Le Monde.fr+4
- High cost of living, economic inequality, unemployment (especially among youth). In Morocco, for example, unemployment for those aged 15-24 is ~36%. AP News+2Azat TV+2
- Discontent with how governments spend on high-profile infrastructure (stadiums, World Cup preparations) while neglecting health, education, social welfare. Eugeo Reins+4AP News+4Azat TV+4
- Deep distrust in corruption, elite capture of policy, absence of meaningful accountability. Le Monde.fr+1
- Organization & Mobilization Patterns
- Leaderless or loosely organized movements. They are rarely tied directly to traditional political parties or charismatic leaders. This means both agility and fragility. Wikipedia+2WRAL.com+2
- Digital platforms are central: TikTok, Discord, X, Telegram, etc. Protesters use them to share grievances, coordinate logistics, produce viral content, bypass traditional media or state control. AP News+3Wikipedia+3WYPR+3
- Rapid diffusion and symbolic contagion: Movements in Kenya, Nepal, Madagascar, Morocco are influencing each other (both in tactics and symbols). Protests in one place become templates for others. opb+3AP News+3Reuters+3
- Responses by Governments & Power Structures
- Mixed: sometimes concessions (amending or withdrawing policies, dissolving governments), but also crackdowns, curfews, arrests, and repression. AP News+3Deutsche Welle+3Reuters+3
- Attempts to limit or control digital space (through surveillance, infiltration of online groups, shutting down or disrupting platforms). Wikipedia+1
- Some “elite shifts”: in Madagascar, the military’s CAPSAT unit defected or aligned in part with protesters, contributing to the downfall of Andry Rajoelina. Reuters+2AP News+2
- Youth Demographics Matter a Lot
- Africa is young. In many countries, over half the population is under 35; youth under 25 make up a huge share of the electorate (where enfranchised) and daily economy. Generational expectations differ sharply from prior decades. Le Monde.fr+3WYPR+3The Washington Post+3
- Connectivity is better than in the past; though uneven, the increasing penetration of mobile internet and social media gives Gen Z tools other generations lacked. Al Jazeera Institute+2WRAL.com+2
What we should be cautious about — limits, risks, fragility
- Decentralization helps, but also means weak bargaining powerWithout formal leadership, it’s harder for protest movements to translate street energy into policy wins. Negotiations, institutional reform often require interlocutors. The fragmented nature may make movements less sustainable over time.
- Risk of co-option or repressionGovernments may try to co-opt parts of the youth movement (coopted figures, token gestures), or repress them outright. In some cases, military or security forces become decisive players (as in Madagascar), pushing beyond merely symbolic reform. Repression risks backlash but also risks fracturing the movement, or making protesters more radical.
- Economic and social fatigueProtests over essential services, or income precarity, are exhausting. Sustained mobilization imposes costs: lost work, risk, safety. If economic relief is slow or absent, expectations rise but so does disillusionment. Also, movements often spike in cities, while rural areas might be less engaged or harder to mobilize.
- Digital surveillance & censorshipThe same tools Gen Z uses are also used by states. Infiltration of online groups (e.g. Discord servers), shutting down or throttling social media, arrests of organizers. These are unevenly applied but increasingly part of the state playbook.
- Political structures still resilientMany governments still retain strong central control, leverage over security forces, power of incumbency, elite networks, foreign support. Even where protests force change, it may be shallow: cabinet reshuffles, superficial reforms rather than deep structural transformation.
What has changed / what is new
- Speed: The ability to mobilize large numbers almost overnight via social media is new. Viral videos, memes, symbols (shared across regions) help reduce the time between grievance → mass mobilization.
- Cross-country learning: Gen Z activists in Africa appear to be inspired by protests elsewhere (Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kenya). They observe what worked, what failed, and adapt tactics accordingly.
- Focus on services / dignity more than ideology: Many of these movements are not defined by ideological divisions (left vs right), but by tangible, everyday failures: health, education, electricity. This makes the demand more universal, cutting across class, region, ethnicity.
- Generational legitimacy: Young people are increasingly refusing the idea that they must wait. With higher expectations (from education, media, global exposure), there’s less patience for the “wait until later” narrative.
What’s likely to happen — possible trajectories
Here are plausible outcomes in the near to medium term (1-3 years), and what could shift the balance.
| Scenario | Conditions Favoring It | Likely Outcome / Risks |
|---|---|---|
| Partial reforms and concessions | If governments respond quickly, offer visible improvement in services, reduce taxes, increase consultation, include youth voices. Also if protest fatigue sets in, or international pressure increases. | Could stabilize unrest, keep movement alive but decapacitated. But if reforms are superficial, may stoke cynicism, making future protests more intense. |
| Escalation and deeper crisis | If governments repress too harshly, or fail to meet basic demands; if protests spread to more regions; if military/security align with protesters; if external economic shocks (fuel, food, climate) worsen conditions. | Possible regime changes, state fragility, deeper instability (especially where institutions are weak). Risk of civil unrest, fragmentation. |
| Co-optation or diversion | If political elites or parties attempt to absorb, redirect, or split youth movements. Or if international actors (e.g. donors) offer financial packages that divert attention. | Could diffuse the energy, reduce radical demands. But could also lead to betrayal or splits, loss of legitimacy of those co-opted. |
| Digital crackdown & information warfare | If states invest more in surveillance, regulating social media, censoring content, arresting online organizers. | Could slow or suppress mobilization, but risk of pushing protests offline or more radical. Also risk of distrust and alienation if digital space shrinks. |
What this means for power, governance, and Africa’s political landscape
- Shifting legitimacy axis: Legitimacy will increasingly be measured not by nationalistic rhetoric or infrastructure megaprojects, but by whether people have clean water, reliable power, jobs, and dignity. Politicians who ignore this risk obsolescence.
- Generational conflict: Older elites are being exposed as increasingly out of touch. In many societies, institutions are dominated by older generations, often with vested interests in maintaining status quo. That gap is a politically dangerous fault line.
- Potential for institutional stress: Courts, parliaments, local governments, police, etc., are being asked for greater transparency and responsiveness. In many places, capacity is low; corruption is endemic; institutional culture is hierarchical and unresponsive. These structural weaknesses may either get exposed or collapse under pressure.
- International implications: Donors, foreign investors, aid agencies will have to reckon with governments’ instability, especially where youth mass movements gain momentum. Countries seen as stable may be re-evaluated. This also shifts what external actors can offer: maybe not just big infrastructure, but support for governance, digital rights, service delivery.
- Political openings—but also danger of authoritarian rollback: Where governments sense threat, they may respond with repressive tools, legal restrictions, pseudo-populist concessions, co-opted youth leaders, etc. The danger is that some countries might slide into more authoritarianism under the guise of “stability.”
My overall evaluation
Gen Z protests in Africa are a meaningful shift—not just in what people are protesting, but how they protest, what they expect, and what tools they use. It is a harbinger of generational realignment: with younger people less willing to accept paternalistic governance or vague promises. These protests have already produced tangible outcomes (removing or changing bills, reshuffling governments, in Madagascar even leading to a coup/military transition).
But the real test is whether this energy translates into sustained pressure for systemic change—stronger institutions, accountability, and social contract resets—not just regime-change or leadership swaps. Much will depend on whether governments can rebuild trust, how economists manage macro pressures, and whether the movements can institutionalize demands in non-violent, sustainable ways.
If you like, I can map out country-by-country risk scores (potential for change vs potential for repression) or simulate how this plays out over the next 5-10 years.
AF-100, Chief of Africa
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