In the wake of political unrest across various nations, democratic governance systems need strong and well-established political parties to channel the demands of citizens, govern in the public good and satisfy the basic needs of societies. Therefore political parties are crucial in aggregating and articulating interests, recruiting leaders, presenting election candidates and developing competing policy proposals that provide a voice – and a choice – to citizens. To fulfil these functions, however, trust in how the political system functions and in political parties as cogs in this machine of government is critical. But, across the African continent, there are low levels of confidence and trust in political parties, notwithstanding the monumental changes taking place among citizen attitudes, especially recent trends towards greater direct political action.