Kenya’s newly established People Renaissance Movement (PM Party) is positioning itself as a political platform for young Kenyans seeking greater participation in public leadership.
The party’s Communications Strategist, George Ngaira, says it was formed to reform Kenya’s political infrastructure, create a new generation of leaders and provide young people with opportunities to pursue elective office.
Ngaira said the party was also responding to the challenges young Kenyans face when seeking political positions through established political parties.
The Communication strategist described the PM Party as a “young and fresh party” seeking to provide opportunities for upcoming leaders to take part in the country’s affairs.
“We thought that with the Gen Z movement and the interest that young Kenyans are taking in making sure that they partake in the affairs of this country, for the first time we saw young people talking about taxes and percentages,” he said during a Radio Generation interview on Monday.
The Communication expert explained that the growing political awareness among young people had exposed the need for an institution through which they could seek elective positions without facing some of the challenges associated with larger political parties.
“The infrastructure of Kenyan politics and what it takes to manoeuvre within the parties is incredibly difficult, and that's why we said, how about we create a platform that then allows them to get in as many young people as possible into public office, so that you can begin to bring the change that we so much desire.”
He maintained that the party's focus was not simply on recruiting young members but on reforming Kenya's political infrastructure and creating what he called a new generation of leaders for a new Kenya.
PM party, led by Party leader designate Caleb Amisi, had identified longstanding national challenges, including tribalism, corruption and wastage of public funds, which it intends to address through its political programme.
“First of all, you have to understand the foundation as to why that party has been formed. It's because we want to reform the political infrastructure of the country. We want to create a new generation of leaders. We're saying a new generation of leaders for new Kenya, and so for us, these are structural reforms.”
The PM Party also intends to distinguish itself from established political parties by deliberately focusing on young people, while remaining open to Kenyans of all ages.
Ngaira said the party's approach was based on what he described as a gap in Kenya's political marketplace, where young people have increasingly sought greater involvement in national affairs.
“The party belongs to everybody. But we are very intentional about young people,” he said.
He cited the party's decision during the recent Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election to support a 26-year-old hawker rather than an established aspirant as an example of its commitment to giving young people political opportunities.
Ngaira said the party believes the growing involvement of young Kenyans in politics provides an opportunity for them to move beyond activism and participate directly in public leadership.
He maintained the PM Party's broader objective was to create a political structure through which young Kenyans could seek elective office and contribute to changing the country's political system.