In 2010, a young Tunisian street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight in protest against corruption and police brutality. His desperate act ignited the Arab Spring, a wave of uprisings that swept across North Africa and the Middle East, toppling once-untouchable strongmen and redrawing the region’s political map.
At the time, many wondered: Would the spirit of rebellion cross the Sahara? Would the youth of Sub-Saharan Africa—frustrated by corruption, joblessness, and hollow promises—rise to demand change?
Fast forward to 2024, and the answer is clear. Africa’s youth are no longer waiting for permission to shape their futures. They are taking matters into their own hands.
In Kenya, the spark came from an unlikely place—social media. A generation dismissed as “lazy” and “entitled” mobilized online and on the streets, confronting the Ruto administration with an energy not seen since the country’s fight for multiparty democracy. Their protests were not merely about tax hikes; they were about a broken social contract, a declaration that the old order no longer serves the new generation. They nearly brought the government to its knees—and in doing so, awakened something across the continent.
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That spirit of defiance soon jumped borders. In Madagascar, the youth—fuelled by economic despair and political fatigue—rose against their president, Andry Rajoelina, toppling his administration and marking the island nation’s most dramatic power shift in a decade. What was once considered an isolated storm in East Africa began to look more like a continental pattern.
Now, eyes turn southward. In South Africa and Tanzania, young people are stirring again. In South Africa, where unemployment and inequality run deep, the so-called “Born Frees” are realizing that political liberation without economic justice is hollow. In Tanzania, discontent simmers despite the hope many had in President Samia Suluhu Hassan—Africa’s first female head of state in the region. Her leadership was once seen as a refreshing departure from the male-dominated politics that have often brought war and corruption. Yet even she now faces a restless generation demanding faster reform and deeper accountability.
Forecasting the Next Hotspots
If the past few years are a guide, the next flashpoints could emerge in Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe—countries where young populations are deeply disillusioned by shrinking economic opportunities, repression, and entrenched political dynasties. Nigeria’s Gen Z, still scarred by the brutal crackdown on the #EndSARS protests, has not forgotten its unfinished business. In Uganda, the generation that once rallied behind Bobi Wine is growing impatient with the unbroken rule of Yoweri Museveni, who has now ruled longer than many of his citizens have been alive. Zimbabwe’s youth, facing economic paralysis and rampant corruption, remain one price hike or one police beating away from another eruption.
Meanwhile, Francophone West Africa remains unpredictable. Coups have toppled leaders in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, largely cheered by a generation that has lost faith in ballot-box democracy. What connects these movements—civil or military—is not ideology but anger: the sense that the system, as it stands, no longer works for them.
The Cameroon Paradox
Yet one puzzling question lingers: Why does the youth in Cameroon remain so quiet? Their president, Paul Biya, now in his nineties and rarely seen in public, has just secured yet another term. His continued grip on power seems surreal in a country where more than 70% of the population is under 35. One might expect outrage, yet the streets of Yaoundé and Douala remain eerily calm.
Some analysts argue that decades of fear, surveillance, and repression have numbed public resistance. Others believe that the ongoing Anglophone conflict in the west has fractured national unity and diverted youthful energy away from collective political change. Many young Cameroonians have turned inward—focusing on migration, survival, or digital hustles rather than protest. It is a silence that may not last forever, but for now, it marks Cameroon as an outlier in a restless continent.
The question, therefore, is not if Africa’s frustrated generation will rise again—it is where and when the next tremor will hit.
A Generation That Refuses to Wait
The youth of Africa—its Millennials and Gen Zs—are done asking politely. They have grown up watching their leaders enrich themselves while unemployment soars and infrastructure crumbles. They have seen the same faces cling to power for decades, recycling empty promises. Now, they are saying enough.
What we are witnessing is not a moment—it is a movement. A generational reckoning.
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The old political elite across the continent would be wise to read the signs. The young are not only the majority in number; they are also the majority in energy, ideas, and innovation. They are the new custodians of Africa’s destiny.
Whether through the ballot box, the streets, or the digital space, they are declaring that change delayed is no longer acceptable. For the aging and corrupt political class, the message is simple:
Reform—or step aside.
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Daniel Makokera is a renowed media personality who has worked as journalist, television anchor, producer and conference presenter for over 20 years. Throughout his career as presenter and anchor, he has travelled widely across the continent and held exclusive interviews with some of Africa’s most illustrious leaders. These include former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former South African presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He currently is the CEO of Pamuzinda Productions based in South Africa.
