LIBERATION political parties once strode across Africa as giants of history. They were the vanguard of independence, the architects of sovereignty, the custodians of dignity in a continent long denied its voice.
They carried the torch of freedom through the crucible of colonialism, mobilising sacrifice, solidarity, and struggle to dismantle empires and reclaim self-rule, yet today, those same parties stand as tragic relics, clutching at faded memories of the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, reciting liberation slogans that no longer resonate with the lived realities of their citizens.
The continent’s youth, born into the digital age and constituting the majority of Africa’s population, are unmoved by nostalgic invocations of guerrilla camps and liberation battlefields. They demand jobs, justice and digital freedom. They seek opportunities in technology, climate-conscious industries and global mobility, not lectures on the heroics of a bygone era.
For them, the rhetoric of liberation has become hollow, the slogans obsolete, and the legitimacy of these parties eroded by decades of corruption, authoritarianism and failure to deliver.
What was once a revolutionary force has calcified into a gerontocratic establishment, more adept at suppressing dissent than at creating opportunity. Liberation parties, once the custodians of dignity, now preside over disillusionment.
Their tragedy lies not only in their inability to adapt but in their refusal to acknowledge that the future belongs to a generation whose aspirations are biological, digital and global.
Hollow memory of liberation
The tragedy of Africa’s liberation parties lies in their stubborn refusal to evolve beyond the mythology of struggle. They continue to demand loyalty based on sacrifices made more than 60 years ago, as though history alone entitles them to perpetual rule, yet the memory of liberation, once a source of pride and unity, has been steadily distorted and defiled by their own actions.
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Patronage networks, prebendalism, corruption and rent-seeking have hollowed out their moral authority, reducing them to rural strongholds sustained by dependency rather than conviction.
Once celebrated by trade unions, urban intellectuals and the cosmopolitan classes, who championed their cause, these parties now find themselves abandoned by the very constituencies that gave them legitimacy.
The African National Congress (ANC), Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), Frelimo, MPLA, Swapo, and Zanu PF must confront a sobering truth that they do not embody all the aspirations of the continent’s people, nor do they hold a monopoly on its leadership.
Their tunnel vision, insisting on interpreting every national, regional and international issue through the prism of liberation entitlement, has blinded them to the realities of a continent in transition.
Africa today is defined not by the battles of the past but by the aspirations of its youth, the demands of digital freedom and the urgency of economic transformation. Liberation parties, trapped in nostalgia, have failed to grasp that history is not a permanent licence to govern but that it is a responsibility to adapt, renew and deliver.
Biological revolution
By 2028, Generation Z will constitute the majority of Africa’s electorate, reshaping the continent’s political landscape with priorities far removed from liberation nostalgia. Born to millennial “bornfree” parents, they are unmoved by guerrilla tales of Mkonto we Sizwe, Zanla, Swapo, CCM, Kanu, MPLA, or Zipra, stories that echo a past irrelevant to their lived realities.
A child born in 2010 will cast a ballot in 2028, demanding digital freedom, jobs, climate action and global mobility, rather than the rhetoric of the 1970s. As Africa’s first fully digital generation, they expect faster internet, smarter cities, virtual learning and accountable governance.
The era of election-related internet blackouts must come to an end. Uganda, Congo, Nigeria, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Chad, Tanzania, and Sudan have all imposed shutdowns during elections, silencing opposition and stifling civic engagement under the guise of “security.”
Such tactics are unsustainable, eroding trust and delegitimising governments. Gen Z, reliant on digital platforms for civic participation, will not tolerate disconnection at the very moment their voices matter most.
Leaders who persist in these practices risk alienating the largest voting bloc in African history and accelerating the collapse of political legitimacy.
Decline of Pan-Africanism
Liberation parties have presided not only over the flowering of PanAfricanism but also over its decline, hollowing out a onceradical vision into a tired ritual of slogans and victimhood. Reckless governance, entrenched corruption and the gerontocratic grip on power have stripped PanAfricanism of its vitality, reducing it to a museum relic rather than a living project.
Too often, PanAfricanism is mistaken for the endless recitation of liberation history and the perpetual cry of colonial victimhood, while its custodians conveniently ignore their own complicity in inviting imperialist influence through poorly negotiated agreements and self- serving concessions.
The paradox is glaring; they lament Africa’s lack of control over its resources, yet they themselves signed away sovereignty for personal gain, entrenching dependency instead of dismantling it.
True Pan-Africanism cannot be sustained on denial or nostalgia. It demands accountability, rigorous self-reflection, and the courage to dismantle myths of exceptionalism that have long shackled African political imagination.
Zimbabwe, for instance, is not the axis of Pan-African struggle despite the inflated claims of its ruling elite; it is simply another failed state, trapped in cycles of despotism and dysfunction, enabled by citizens unwilling to confront their complicity in sustaining corrupt systems.
For PanAfricanism to be reborn, it must shed the illusions of liberation entitlement and confront the hard truths of betrayal, misrule and squandered opportunity. Only then can it reclaim its original purpose, which is the collective empowerment of Africans, not the perpetual indulgence of liberation parties clinging to faded glory.
Gen Z priorities vs. government gaps
Gen Z’s demands are neither utopian nor abstract; they are clear, practical, and imminently feasible. By 2028, as Africa’s dominant electorate, this generation will expect governance rooted in tangible outcomes rather than liberation nostalgia.
They seek jobs and entrepreneurial pathways to confront corrosive unemployment, with opportunities in startups, green industries, and the creative economy. They insist on digital freedom, affordable internet, protection from censorship and an end to shutdowns and surveillance that erode trust.
They demand genuine political inclusion beyond token councils, pressing for real representation and the dismantling of entrenched gerontocracy.
They call for accountability through open data and independent watchdogs, rejecting opaque budgets and systemic corruption, and they require climate and social justice, recognising climate change as a lived reality and pressing for renewable energy, resilient infrastructure, and inclusive rights.
In short, Gen Z is not asking for miracles but for the fundamentals of modern governance like jobs, justice, digital freedom, accountability and sustainability. Governments that fail to deliver risk forfeiting legitimacy before the largest voting bloc Africa has ever known, a generation unwilling to be pacified by rhetoric and determined to anchor the continent’s future in accountability and renewal.
Risks of failure
If African governments fail to meet the urgent demands of their youth, the consequences will be profound and destabilising. First, mass abstention from the ballot box and national plebiscites will deepen legitimacy crises.
A generation that feels excluded or deceived will withdraw from formal politics, eroding the credibility of electoral outcomes and hollowing out the foundations of democratic governance.
Second, street protests will intensify, surpassing the upheavals witnessed in Tanzania, Morocco, Madagascar and Kenya. These eruptions of youthful frustration reflect a continental trend demonstrating that when institutions falter, the urban street becomes the arena of politics.
Third, radicalisation looms as a perilous alternative. Disillusioned youth, denied opportunity and silenced in civic spaces, may gravitate toward extremist movements or disruptive ideologies that promise agency where governments have delivered only despair.
The lesson is stark that neglecting the aspirations of Gen Z is not a passive failure but an accelerant of instability. Governments that ignore this reality risk presiding over societies where disengagement, protest and radicalisation converge to corrode state authority and derail continental progress.
The path forward
By 2028, governments across Africa must move decisively beyond the empty theatre of rhetoric and deliver reforms that are visible, measurable and transformative.
The continent’s youth, now the dominant electorate, will no longer be placated by slogans or symbolic gestures. They demand youth-centred economic policies that confront unemployment head-on, investing in startups, green industries and vocational pathways that align with their digital and entrepreneurial spirit.
They insist on legal guarantees of digital rights, recognising that connectivity and freedom of online expression are not luxuries but the lifeblood of civic participation in the 21 st century. They call for institutional reforms that give young people real power. This includes dismantling gerontocratic monopolies and lowering barriers to candidacy so that youthful voices can shape governance rather than merely applaud it.
They also demand climate action that resonates with their future-oriented worldview, prioritising renewable energy, resilient infrastructure and environmental justice as the foundation of sustainable development.
The message is that by 2028, governments must prove their relevance not through nostalgia but through delivery. Anything less will be judged as betrayal by a generation unwilling to inherit silence or squandered futures.
End of liberation nostalgia
Liberation parties must face the unavoidable truth that they can no longer dismiss every challenge from opposition, civic movements, or regional bodies as “Western puppetry”.
That refrain has lost its power, especially with Africa’s youth. The verdict is already clear that Zanu PF, ANC, and MPLA have watched their support erode steadily over three decades and have exposed themselves as relics of a fading order.
The tragedy is stark that once symbols of freedom, some of these parties now embody repression, voterigging and authoritarian reflexes. They cling to the faded heroics of liberation while ignoring the urgent demands of the present.
Africa’s youth, however, demand jobs, justice and digital freedom, not nostalgia. Generation Z will not inherit silence, nor be colonised twice: first by empire, and now by elites who mistake history for entitlement. They will measure leadership not by battles fought in the 1970s but by opportunities created in the 2020s.
The future belongs to those who deliver, leaders who generate employment, guarantee digital rights, ensure accountability and act decisively on climate and social justice. It does not belong to those who recite slogans from a bygone era, mistaking memory for mandate.
Africa’s youth have already written the epitaph of liberation parties clearly: once liberators, now obstacles. The new struggle is not for independence but for relevance, and only those who embrace the demands of a digital, global and accountable age will survive it.
Muzengeza is a political risk analyst and urban strategist offering incisive insight on urban planning, infrastructure, leadership succession and governance reform across Africa’s evolving post-liberation urban landscapes.
