Deliberative conversation · Phase 1 · October 2024
Have you been asked for a bribe recently?
zKe opened its first conversation in October 2024 with a question almost every young Kenyan could answer. After more than 600 stories and comments, we asked a second question: which issue bothers you most?
WhenOctober 2024
WhereBarazas in Nakuru, Nairobi, Kitui and Mombasa, radio, X and WhatsApp
AnalysisTalk to the City
At a glance
The first zKe conversation
600+
stories and comments about bribery analysed
20,000+
people reached by the Spice FM and KTN TV discussion
3,500+
people tuned in to the X Space on bribery
500+
answers to the second question: which issue bothers you most?
zKe is a home for sustained national engagement by and for Kenya’s youth, launched in October 2024. Instead of choosing the topics for young people, zKe began by asking them.
zKe picked bribery as a “hook question” that almost every young person could relate to. The answers opened the door to the real question: what should young Kenyans talk about at national level?
How it worked
Offline, on air and online
17 October 2024
zKe youth baraza in Nakuru, with about 30 young people
19 October 2024
Youth baraza in Nairobi
21 October 2024
Youth baraza in Kitui
26 October 2024
Youth baraza in Mombasa
October 2024
Discussion on Spice FM’s The Situation Room, aired on Spice FM radio and KTN TV, and an X Space on bribery
End of October 2024
zKe analyses more than 600 comments from the WhatsApp bot, zKe’s social media, the Spice FM discussion on YouTube and the X Space
In their own words
What young people told us
Comments shared on zKe’s TikTok when we asked about bribes. The first two are in Sheng, with a translation.
“Nika mumwambia polisi awache hawa watoto… kawaida akasema nilipie kila kijana 500×8=4000 nika lipa.”
Comment on TikTok. In English: I asked the police officer to let these young people go… as usual he said I should pay for each one, 500 × 8 = 4,000, and I paid.
“Ukiambiwa uongee ujiongee wakusaidie juu traffic offences ukienda court haikuagi rahisi.”
Comment on TikTok. In English: when they tell you to talk, talk your way out so they help you, because with traffic offences, going to court is never easy.
“I was seeking employment and the person in charge wanted some money for ‘chai’.”
Comment on TikTok
The second question
Which issue bothers you most?
After the bribery conversation, zKe asked young people: “As a Kenyan, what issue bothers you the most today?” Answers came in through WhatsApp and social media, and zKe analysed more than 500 unique responses.
Education came out far ahead of every other issue. Corruption and governance, access to healthcare, social inequality and jobs followed.
Issues raised in answers to “what issue bothers you the most today?”
Source: zKe monthly report, October 2024. Analysis of more than 500 unique responses.
What happened next
Four national conversations
The answers set the agenda for the next stage of zKe. zKe turned the top topics into questions for nationwide conversations in November 2024. Public participation was added because the Public Participation Bill was open for public views at the time.
Kenya’s education in crisis
In your experience, what are the main challenges within Kenya’s education system?
Public Participation Bill
What would make the public participation bill meaningful to you?
Access to healthcare
What changes would you need to make sure you can access quality healthcare?
Enabling youth employment
If you were in government, what is one thing you would do to help young people get jobs?
Read what young people said in the education, public participation and unemployment conversations, and in the conversations on the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill and the Youth Bill 2024.
Explore the bribery analysis
Talk to the City groups more than 600 comments on bribery into themes, while keeping each person’s own words.
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