Infotrak: More Women Than Men Unhappy With Where Kenya Is Currently Heading

A survey carried out by Infotrak Research and Consulting revealed that more Kenyan women than men have expressed unhappiness with where Kenya is currently heading.

The survey titled End of Year Poll December 2023 compared the current direction of Kenya in two ways; those who feel the country is headed in the wrong direction and those who feel the country is headed in the right direction.

Overall, 61 per cent of Kenyans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, which is an increase from 55 per cent who believed the country was headed in the wrong direction at this point in 2022, signifying an increase in dissatisfaction with the Kenya Kwanza administration.

"Over the past year, Kenya's public mood has shifted, with growing concerns about the country's direction. This is reflected in recent data from Infotrak, a Kenyan research firm, which paints a picture of rising dissatisfaction.

Infotrak CEO, Angela Ambitho during a past media briefing. /FILE

"Compared to December 2022, the number of Kenyans feeling the country is heading in the wrong direction has increased by 7% from 55% to 61%," stated Infotrak in part.

Currently, three out of five Kenyans express unhappiness with the country's current trajectory, a sentiment that is particularly strong among 64% of women and almost 7 in 10 youth aged 18-25 years. In comparison, 59% of men had expressed unhappiness with the country's current trajectory.

The top 10 key reasons why 61 per cent of Kenyans currently believe the country is headed in the wrong direction include; high cost of living (93 per cent), unemployment (37 per cent), poverty (20 per cent), increase in taxation (17 per cent), poor governance (11 per cent) and rampant corruption (10 per cent),

Others include quality of education (7 per cent), bad politics (5 per cent), quality of healthcare (4 per cent) and increased insecurity (4 per cent).

"Notably, this sense of unease seems to permeate all regions. Over half of Kenyans in all eight regions surveyed now feel the country is off track with Nyanza and Western leading the pack at 72% and 69% respectively," added the report.

Comparatively, in February, 22% of Kenyans had expressed that the country was headed in the right direction based on the peace that prevailed, while 34%, 39%, and 44% in July, September, and December, respectively agreed that the nation was on the right path because of peace.

"For them (those who believe in the country's right direction), the guiding melody is the steady hum of peace and unity.

"The divisive drums of the past seem muted, replaced by the gentle rhythm of harmonious co-existence. This pervasive sense of national togetherness forms the bedrock of their satisfaction," the research firm said.

10%, 19%, 19%, and 33% in February, July, September, and December, respectively, said the cost of living was affordable and thus an indication that the country was headed the right way.

In February, 5% said education was doing well, while in July, September, and December, 8%, 13%, and 18%, respectively, stated their satisfaction with the improvement in education.

On corruption, 7% in July and September said the government is actively fighting graft, compared with 12 per cent giving the same perspective in December.

On matters of infrastructure, 2% in February felt there was good infrastructure in the country, 10% said so in July, and 15% and 13% agreed in September and December, respectively.

16% said in February that the Executive, the presidency, and the ministers were doing well; 34 per cent in July; 21% in September; and 22% in December echoed the same sentiments.

In February, only 4% noted that devolution has made a difference as compared with 11%, 21%, and 15% in the subsequent months of July, September, and December.

2% in February noted that there was an improvement in healthcare, while 8%, 16%, and 9% in the other months agreed there was an improvement in healthcare in the country.

The survey was conducted on 1,500 respondents between December 18 to December 19, 2023.