NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 21 – Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has commended young people leading voter registration efforts across the country, singling out social media activist Allan Ademba for what he described as exceptional civic mobilisation.Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Sifuna praised what he termed a growing trend of youth-led civic participation, noting that the registration drive has increasingly been driven by young people themselves rather than formal institutions.“Which is why, Honorable Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to commend the young people of this country who have decided that they are going to run this registration drive themselves,”Sifuna noted.He particularly highlighted Ademba’s role in mobilising youth under the “Tukokadi” movement, saying his efforts had reached significant numbers in a remarkably short time.“There’s a young man on social media, Honorable Speaker, called Allan Ademba. If there was ever a person in this country who deserves a state commendation, it is that young man who has mobilized the Tukokadi movement,”Sifuna expressed.The Nairobi Senator drew a comparison with past state honours, arguing that recognition systems have not always reflected the scale of civic contribution.He referenced a previous award of a Head of State Commendation (HSC) to the famous githeri man for minimal civic action, contrasting it with Ademba’s mobilisation of over a million young people.“Let us be honest, this country once gave a Head of State Commendation to someone simply for standing in a queue holding a bag of githeri while voting,” he said.Sifuna argued that Ademba’s contribution to civic education and voter awareness warranted similar, if not greater, recognition.“So what Ademba has been able to achieve in terms of registration of over a million young people in a very short space, I think even these titles that some of us have should be given to people like him because of the civic education that he’s doing there. And at a fraction, Honorable Speaker, of the budgets that we see from IEBC,”he noted.The Tuko Kadi movement, a Gen Z‑led civic mobilisation campaign encouraging young Kenyans to register and own their voter cards ahead of the 2027 general election, is rapidly gaining traction nationwide — and its leaders are pushing back against political interference.The Tuko Kadi slogan (Sheng for “we have the card”) has gone viral on social media platforms like TikTok, X, and Instagram, with thousands of youths sharing their voter registration status and urging peers to register with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).Beyond online engagement, young Kenyans are mobilising physically, visiting registration centres and spreading civic awareness across counties.As the campaign’s visibility grows, youth organisers and activists are sharply warning politicians not to hijack or claim leadership of the initiative, insisting it remains citizen‑driven and independent of party politics.Generation Z activists have publicly urged political actors to stay away from the Tuko Kadi slogan and agenda, underscoring that the campaign belongs to the youth and should not be co‑opted for electoral gain.Youth leaders behind the movement have criticised attempts by political figures to appropriate the campaign’s messaging, framing such moves as distracting from the core goal of empowering voters and holding leaders accountable at the ballot box.The initiative’s founder has also openly rebuked attempts to co‑opt the movement, describing such efforts as “intellectual theft” and affirming that the campaign is about citizen empowerment rather than political opportunism.The Tuko Kadi movement reflects a broader trend of youth civic activism in Kenya, where Generation Z is using digital platforms and grassroots organising to influence political engagement and accountability long before candidate campaigns begin.By emphasising voter registration and participation, the campaign seeks to shift focus from traditional party mobilisation to direct citizen involvement in the democratic process.