As Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi prepared to table the 2025/2026 national budget before Parliament on Thursday, June 12, 2025, he acknowledged a force that few government officials had openly credited in years past: the power of Gen Z.
In a candid live television interview en route from Karen to the Treasury headquarters in Nairobi, Mbadi spoke about the impact that last year’s youth-led protests had on reshaping not just the budget itself but the entire fiscal philosophy of the government.
“Actually last year’s events were a turning point in the country,” Mbadi said.
“It demonstrated to us very clearly that our constitution is not idle — that the citizens are alert and exercising their democratic rights. And so we definitely had to change the way we do things.”
In 2024, waves of spontaneous demonstrations largely organised by young Kenyans on social media forced the government to withdraw the controversial Finance Bill.
Protesters criticised what they saw as a lack of transparency and fairness in taxation and public spending, as well as the disconnect between policymakers and ordinary citizens.
Those protests, Mbadi admitted, served as a wake-up call.
“There were questions around openness and transparency in the budget-making process and I think that is what we have done differently this time,” he said.
He outlined a shift from the insular, technocratic approach traditionally used by the Treasury to a more inclusive and grassroots process.
“Apart from what has for some time been done, where the budget process takes a particular route or pattern, this time we were more engaging with the public.”
Since his appointment, Mbadi said he has made a concerted effort to bridge the gap between the Treasury and the people, particularly the youth.
“You will remember that I took personal initiative from the time I got into the office, communicating and making people understand and demystifying what the National Treasury is all about and managing of our finances,” he said.
He detailed an extensive public engagement campaign:
“We have had even public barazas, we have had cases where we held meetings in Jeevanjee Gardens, we have held meetings in Mombasa, my team has gone to Eldoret, we have gone to other places — even Nyeri — to hold public engagements.”
Mbadi emphasised his outreach to younger Kenyans.
“I have interacted with the youth, we have had meetings with Gen Zs, I have had meetings with the Nairobi business community. I have even held meetings in Kibra, something that I think has not been done before — just to engage the public to understand the budget and Finance Bill.”
Finance Bill 2024 protests
Gen Z-led demonstrations in mid-last year nearly toppled Ruto’s administration, with widespread unrest culminating in the storming and burning of Parliament on June 24, 2024.
The violent backlash forced the government to withdraw Finance Bill 2024, which had proposed sweeping tax hikes.
In a rare concession speech, Ruto acknowledged the public’s vehement rejection of the bill.
“I concede. It is clear that Kenyans want nothing to do with this bill. I will not sign it into law,” Ruto said in a televised address.
As he prepares to present the national budget to lawmakers, Mbadi’s comments signal a government increasingly aware of the country’s shifting political landscape — one where the voices of youth and digital citizens are no longer peripheral but central to the policy-making process.
Martin Oduor
The alchemist of literary works – a master wordsmith with a proven record of transforming the raw materials of language into a rich tapestry of emotion, thought, and imagination.
