When Diana Ammabele listens to young people speak about their futures, she hears more than economic frustration. She hears exhaustion. As Director of Programs at LEAP Africa, a leadership development organisation working across the continent, Ammabele has spent years working with emerging leaders.
Whose future is it anyway?In an exclusive interview with TUKO.co.ke, she disclosed that what she witnessed during a youth forum in Nairobi’s Westlands recently left a lasting impression. She noted that the current generation is burdened not only by unemployment, but by emotional strain, uncertainty, and a growing loss of faith in institutions meant to serve them.
“This generation of young people is some of the most mentally unwell in history,” Ammabele said. “You cannot be trying to optimise them as leaders and not address their health and well-being. Leadership cannot grow in an environment of burnout.” The forum, themed “Whose Future Is It Anyway?”, brought together young professionals, policy thinkers, and community leaders to confront what Ammabele describes as a widening gap between youth potential and structural opportunity.
Kenyan youths living in instability
From her vantage point, the problem goes far beyond the absence of jobs. It is about the nature of the opportunities available and the psychological toll of constantly having to improvise survival. “Young people are being told to innovate, to hustle, to create solutions,” she explained. “But many are doing so from a place of instability. When your income is unpredictable and your future uncertain, it affects how you think, how you plan, and how you lead.”
She has observed a pattern across multiple African countries: highly educated, skilled young people navigating fragile gig work, short-term contracts, and entrepreneurial ventures with high failure rates. While the language of innovation dominates public discourse, Ammabele says it often masks a deeper vulnerability.
“There is a difference between empowerment and abandonment,” she said. “We must be careful not to romanticise resilience. Resilience should not be a permanent requirement for survival.”
The pressure to succeed
In her work, Ammabele has met young leaders who carry enormous responsibility, not just for themselves, but for their families and communities, while silently battling anxiety and fatigue. Many feel pressured to succeed quickly to justify the sacrifices made for their education.
“What we are seeing is a generation that is capable, ambitious, and driven,” she said. “But they are also overwhelmed. They are navigating economic systems that were not designed with their realities in mind.” She believes this disconnect is contributing to growing political disengagement among young people.
Rather than apathy, she sees withdrawal as a symptom of repeated disappointment. “When young people feel excluded from decision-making, they begin to question whether their participation matters,” she said. “It is not that they do not care. It is that they are tired of not being heard.”
What do Kenyan youths need?
Despite the gravity of the situation, Ammabele remains cautiously optimistic. She sees immense potential in the young people she works with, not just as future leaders, but as present-day problem-solvers.
“The solutions exist,” she said. “Young people understand their challenges better than anyone. What they need is not charity, but partnership. They need systems that trust them, invest in them, and include them meaningfully.” For Ammabele, the stakes extend beyond individual careers.
The well-being of young people, she argues, is directly tied to the future stability and prosperity of entire nations. “You cannot build strong institutions on the backs of exhausted young people,” she said. “If we want sustainable leadership, we must first create environments where young people can breathe, recover, and believe in their futures again.” Her message remains clear: Kenya’s youth do not lack talent, ambition, or ideas. What they lack, she believes, is a system willing to meet them halfway. And until that changes, the country risks losing not just their productivity, but their hope.
Kenyan Govt to employ 20,000 youths
Meanwhile, President William Ruto's administration plans to combat youth unemployment by rolling out a new programme to employ 20,000 youths across the country. The initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of Labour aligns with national development goals, such as the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and African Vision 2063.
The collaboration brings together educational institutions, non-governmental organisations, corporate social responsibility departments and community organisations.
Source: TUKO
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