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Keegan Kagwe
Pan-African youth leader and advocate for gender equality and child protection
Keegan Kagwe is an uncompromising youth voice for dignity, rights, and justice across Africa. As African Union Saleema Youth Ambassador, he shapes continental conversations on ending harmful practices and advancing gender equality through unapologetically Pan-African advocacy.
Separately, as National Coordinator of the Youth Anti-FGM Network Kenya (YANK), Keegan mobilizes young leaders across 22 FGM hotspot counties to confront harmful traditions and safeguard the rights of women and girls.
He co-chairs the Girls Not Brides Kenya Youth Advisory Panel and serves on the African Union Technical Working Group on Harmful Practices, influencing policy frameworks that reach millions. His campaigns have secured funding, forged strategic partnerships, and engaged over 1.2 million young people through innovative digital outreach in the last year.
Beyond Harmful Practices, Keegan drives action against childhood sexual violence, applying technology and survivor-centered storytelling to strengthen protection systems. He has carried African youth perspectives into ACERWC, the Universal Periodic Review, and the Commission on the Status of Women, ensuring grassroots realities inform global agendas.
A proud advocate, self-described egalitarian, and committed Pan-Africanist, Keegan fuses lived experience, policy acumen, and digital savvy to prove that young Africans are not passive participants but architects of the continent’s future. Off-stage, he’s an avid reader, a
hiker who finds clarity on mountain trails, and a TikTok scroller attuned to his generation’s rhythms. Keegan is a member of the Brave Movement.
"Violence against children is not a side issue; it is a structural failure that bleeds economies, destabilizes societies, and erodes human dignity. The G20, commanding 85% of global GDP, should treat this as an economic imperative. At the African level, inaction is even costlier. Child trafficking and online exploitation erode trust in institutions, drain GDP, and destabilize societies. The AU’s Online Safety Model Law is a step forward, but it needs G20 backing financially, diplomatically, and through trade standards to have real impact. For me, these conversations are not academic. They are about girls forced into marriage, boys groomed through social media, and we, survivors whose futures depend on whether global leaders choose courage over complacency. The G20 is one of the few spaces where economic muscle and moral responsibility intersect."
