--- description: Find out how Rose Njeri Tunguru is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: Rose Njeri Tunguru Is on the 2025 TIME100 Next image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5fc200be5fc35cd/6998c9f547fe51338e55c15b/t100-next-2025-rose-njeri.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 30, 2025 # Rose Njeri Tunguru ## Video: See Everyone on the 2025 TIME100 Next List [Watch (HLS stream): See Everyone on the 2025 TIME100 Next List](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ICSs7gXk.m3u8) (1:59)  _Published 2025-09-30_ by [Billy Perrigo](/author/billy-perrigo/) ## Billy Perrigo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent  Courtesy Rose Njeri In May, Rose Njeri Tunguru, a 35-year-old software developer from Nairobi, created a simple online tool allowing Kenyans to email officials expressing their opposition to a controversial finance bill. Days after she announced the tool on X, Tunguru was detained and accused of violating Kenya’s cybercrime laws. Her arrest and the seizure of her devices sparked mass uproar and global headlines as human-rights organizations, including Amnesty International Kenya, called for her release. The coverage threw a spotlight on her initial X post, which has been viewed nearly 1 million times. Tunguru was released in June after four nights in custody. Later that month, a court found that the charges against her were baseless. Now, this software developer who never expected her tool to go viral—let alone become a symbol of resistance—is embracing her new role. She says authorities “want to ignore us like we are not part of the process as citizens,” adding, “We shouldn’t just sit back and watch.” Rose Njeri Tunguru: TIME100 Next 2025 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318859/rose-njeri/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318859/rose-njeri/"},"headline":"Rose Njeri Tunguru","datePublished":"2025-09-30T10:57:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:55:14.750Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318859/rose-njeri/","keywords":["TIME100 Next","sponsorshipblock"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5fc200be5fc35cd/6998c9f547fe51338e55c15b/t100-next-2025-rose-njeri.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Billy Perrigo","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/"}],"creator":"Billy Perrigo","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5fc200be5fc35cd/6998c9f547fe51338e55c15b/t100-next-2025-rose-njeri.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-next/","name":"TIME100 Next"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318859/rose-njeri/","name":"Rose Njeri Tunguru"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the 2025 TIME100 Next List","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ICSs7gXk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-09-30T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ICSs7gXk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318859/rose-njeri/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318859/rose-njeri/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```