In the corporate world, the question of when one is ready to assume the corner office is typically discussed in hushed tones and often in a way that keeps this bias from being openly acknowledged. The same is the case in politics and in other spheres of leadership.
There is an unwritten rule that leadership belongs to those who have accumulated decades and rarely about ideas, energy, or vision.
Therefore, when a 44-year-old Nairobi Senator named Edwin Sifuna is mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, the predictable chorus begins: He is too young. He needs to wait his turn. But wait for what? And until when? Others who are old long-entrenched veterans who have held leadership positions for eons are quick to dim his star, reminding him that he needs to be ‘mentored’.
Nelson Mandela reminded us that ‘the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.’ But perhaps the real question is this: should we be speaking of leaders of tomorrow or leaders of today? If these words mean anything, Kenya must confront an uncomfortable truth: we have confused age with wisdom and youth with incompetence. And for so long.
My father always reminds me that even fools grow old. Silver hair is no passport to claim leadership or to deny others their turn.
History is unmistakable on this matter. Throughout medieval and modern times, young leaders have risen to power and midwifed earth-shattering achievements.
In Africa, Thomas Sankara became President of Burkina Faso at just 33, transforming a poor nation with bold policies on health, education, and women’s rights. More recently, Bassirou Diomaye Faye was sworn in as Senegal’s president in April 2024 at 44.
Arguably, the Africa’s youngest elected leader after a dramatic rise from prison to palace. In Burkina Faso today, Ibrahim Traoré assumed power at 36, making him the world’s youngest serving head of state.
The West offers no shortage of examples. Emmanuel Macron became France’s youngest president at 39. Jacinda Ardern was 37 when she became New Zealand’s prime minister. Sanna Marin took Finland’s top job at 34. John F. Kennedy was 43 when he assumed the American presidency. Theodore Roosevelt was even younger at 42 when he took office.
Asia and the Middle East have also embraced youthful leadership. Benazir Bhutto became Pakistan’s prime minister at 35. Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani assumed Qatar’s leadership at 33. Kim Jong-un took power in North Korea in December 2011 at the age of 27, although we understand the set of circumstances that were involved.
Critics will argue that Kenya is different, a young democracy with a GDP of approximately $147 billion, far smaller than France, New Zealand, or Finland.
Nonetheless this argument flops under clear examination. If anything, Kenya’s challenges demand the energy, adaptability, and fresh thinking that younger leaders often bring.
Our problems such as unemployment, corruption, debt, and inequality cannot be solved by age. They are solved by vision, courage, and competence. Therefore, while age could be important, it is not entirely the only factor. Indeed, at times experience could be just bad experience.
Kenya’s fixation on gerontocracy is not rooted in evidence. For starters, gerontocracy is a form of government or social system in which power is held by leaders who are significantly older than the majority of the population.
It is rooted in fear that young leaders might disrupt old power structures and pull to pieces the patronage networks that have well-defined our politics for generations.
The same fear that dismissed Sankara, Macron, and Ardern is now being deployed against youthful potential candidates.
To move this country forward, we must refuse to push the wisdom in the fact that leadership is not a function of birth year.
It is a function of character, capability, and clarity of purpose. The question that we must ask is not “How old is this leader?” but “What has this leader done, and what can he or she do?” Perhaps no example better exposes the fallacy of age-based leadership than Martin Luther King Jr.
He was just 26 when he began leading the Montgomery bus boycott. By the time he was assassinated at 39, he had delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech, won the Nobel Peace Prize, and fundamentally transformed American society.
Kenya stands at a crossroads. If we continue to equate leadership with longevity, we will remain trapped in the same cycles that have defined our past. If we embrace a different standard based on integrity, competence, and vision. We might finally unlock the future Mandela spoke of.
The youth of today are the leaders of today. Tomorrow never comes. Kenya must not be left waiting.