Young women are constantly expressing their leadership influence and increasingly motivated to break the mold within the political spaces. Alionya’s name echoes beyond the walls of the ODM party and family lineage, she is a symbol of growing influence of young women in leadership. Professionally she is an educator, policy researcher and the leader of ODM Young Captains.
Despite the constitutional strides, youth and women’s role in governance have for a long time been downplayed and implementation beyond the affirmative action has largely remained fragmented. Nevertheless, Alionya is steadily challenging the political party barriers and the public court verdicts that have constrained political participation by the youth and young women. She knows how to navigate the broad divide between the new blood and the old guard. Known for her charismatic oratory skills and content-based discussions, she has maintained her political stance in the midst of opposing views. This has attracted intense criticism on social media, including derogatory remarks targeting her appearance and gender.
“I just sat and realized that my critics cannot abuse me based on my thinking capacity, debating skills, creativity or aura, and so they decided to look at what can we fight her with, maybe the face because she is not that beautiful, maybe the teeth because they are not well aligned… But I am a strong person held by strong women around me, who remind me that I am perfect the way I am…” Roseline Alionya.
This criticism comes at the backdrop of her increased campaign for her political party particularly the Linda Ground wing of ODM Party, which has faced internal rivalry following the death of the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, last year. A closer look at the political matrix of Kenya, sexist and patriarchal attitudes are often used to intimidate young women in politics.
We caught up with her amidst her busy schedule to share her insights on the state of the youth, the successes and shortcomings of youth engagement, and the role political parties are playing in advancing the interests of young people.
The outspoken youth leader believes that the youth have become politically conscious and although the protests and movements since 2024 have been successful, only the immediate demands have been met as opposed to the long-term asks. She attributes the failure to address the long-term demands partially to a lack of structured representation by the Gen Z and the reluctance to set their agenda clear, giving an example of their refusal to get into an X space with the president to address their demands at the height the 2024 Gen Z protests.
Alionya observes that, based on her experience, although the youth claim to be detached from the traditional political structures, prevailing trends still show that a significant number continue to align themselves with political parties along the lines of personal interests and ethnic affiliations. Whereas the youth perceive the party ideologies as very fluid, shaped by convenience and patronage politics, they cannot bypass the influence and machinery of those parties. She adds that the assumption that their demands can only be reasonably addressed outside the mainstream political parties on the basis that traditional institutions are disconnected from their realities, compromised or ineffective in championing their interests —gaining power without the political parties is an uphill task.
In the wake of the recent uprisings, a paradox endures. On one hand, due to the political reawakening there has been a gamble for the youth vote with political parties trying rebrand to accommodate this demographic. On the other hand, little has been done to amplify the voices of the youth or integrate them into the core decision-making structures within the parties despite decades of hard-fought struggle for inclusion. Notwithstanding the aforementioned challenges, the leader of the ODM Young Captains remains optimistic that the current political situation will compel the parties to support the youth by; appointing them to senior positions such as secretary-general roles, granting them nomination tickets and providing the financial backing necessary to compete effectively. In addressing the structural basis for youth participation, she also adds that the political parties should be reformed to reflect the contemporary realities and adapt to the dynamics of the youth. This, she says, requires streamlining bureaucratic processes and fostering more responsive, issue-driven politics that better aligns with the ideals of the youth and dealing with the attendant fears of politically motivated violence.
Similarly, while she discourages the bedevilling culture of marginalizing youth aspirants, patronage politics and elite-boardroom politics devoid of youth participation, she argues that change will require collective action. In her view, young people across political parties irrespective of their divergent views must unite and speak with a unified voice to challenge such practices. Additionally, the Gen Z must change their perception and tact of political engagement by developing endurance for the complexities and often demanding nature of politics and rather than perceiving politics as a leisure activity.
“Most Gen Zs due to their digital upbring, do not want to get tired…In politics no one is going to give you anything, you need to fight for the space. Show that you are good at what you do, right from videography, writing and giving ideas.”
On the state of the country, even though she applauds the current regime’s efforts of progressive realization of the constitutional obligations espoused under Article 43, she shares in the collective views of the youth, that the priorities of the current leaders and sector-led industries should be to improve livelihoods by putting food in the mouths of Kenyans. She believes that the leaders should majorly focus on economic liberation through creating a thriving environment capable of driving profit for the youth-led enterprises, ensuring farmers can also earn value from their produce through stable and reliable markets and expanding access to education. Likewise focus should also be given to the growing digital economy, which has become a key source of income for many young people.
