Youths shout slogans on Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi on October 20, 2024, after police officers who had cordoned off Uhuru Park dispersed them.
Some Kenyans used Mashujaa Day to express their displeasure with and, in some cases, open hostility towards the government and its local representatives.
In some regions, national government administrators braved apathy and rebellion to deliver President William Ruto’s message, with some reading the speech to an audience of empty chairs.
In Mt Kenya region, local leaders and residents expressed their discontentment with the Kenya Kwanza administration after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was impeached by both the National Assembly and the Senate.
Unlike previous national events where county governors used national holidays to outline their development records, most counties marked this year’s Mashujaa without their county bosses.
Fearing backlash, the governors of Nyeri, Murang’a, Isiolo, Meru, Tharaka Nithi and Embu kept off the celebrations, leaving the duty of presiding over the ceremony to deputy governors, administrators and county secretaries.
In Kiambu, Juja Deputy County Commissioner Charles Muriithi faced a hostile crowd when he rose to deliver Dr Ruto’s speech.
Residents booed and heckled him, and at one point, he virtually addressed empty seats as residents walked out in open protest.
Local chiefs and their assistants were not spared, with the crowd blaming Dr Ruto for allegedly betraying his deputy president who went out of his way in 2022 to ensure they ascend to power.
“We have walked out because we are unhappy with Ruto for lying and using Gachagua. He has betrayed him and the people of Mount Kenya. We believed Ruto and now see what he has done to Gachagua,” said Nyambura Kamau, 33, a resident of Juja.
“We have walked out because President William Ruto has betrayed Rigathi Gachagua. If Gachagua is going home, they should go home together because we elected them together. We cannot listen to his speech,” added Ibrahim Kamau, 65.
In Murang’a, County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha read the president’s speech to less than 50 residents, the majority being government officers, after the majority of the few attendees walked out in protest.
“The first person we should be citing as a hero is the president if he had managed to improve our lives but he has made us more desolate and is treating us in contempt. If he was here personally, I would have booed and walked out on him,” said Martin Nduati, 28.
A similar walkout was staged on Deputy County Commissioner Gitonga Murungi when he rose to read Dr Ruto’s speech at Kangangu grounds.
“I specifically came here for no other reason but to walk out on the president’s speech. It is the only way I can show my contempt for his politics. It is my way of making it clear to him that I also want him impeached,” said Mzee Warui Njuguna, 78.
Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu said he saw no need to attend the celebrations owing to the sad state of affairs in President Ruto’s administration.
“Instead, I, with some disinterest, followed his speech on TV and I was amazed at how he packed his message with anti-Mt Kenya sentiments,” he said.
Mr Nyutu said, “The president trashed the history of Mau Mau and advanced a theory that it was an overrated uprising where he rewrote history by saying the uprising was by all Kenyans”.
Maragua MP Mary wa Maua, who rarely misses national holidays, kept off the grounds, saying there was nothing worth celebrating in the current political environment.
“Let us wait for Christmas at least we celebrate the birth of our saviour. The Mashujaa Day was even made worse by the shocking revelations of Mr Gachagua after he checked out of hospital,” she said.
In Nyeri, the event was characterised by a low turnout at Ruringu Stadium, with empty chairs on the main dais.
At Dedan Kimathi Stadium, local chiefs resorted to inviting entertainment groups to fill the vacant seats on the main podium, at the event presided over by Nyeri Central Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Joseph Mwangi.
In Coast, there was evident apathy, with a starkly low turnout at the scenic Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa, and at Butwani Waterfront in Malindi, Kilifi County.
The few who attended the event in Mombasa included less than 100 students, who struggled to fill the tents designated for the public.
But the anti-government wave, which hit the crescendo during the June-July youth-led revolt, was still being felt even before Mashujaa Day, with some leaders sent to represent the president at public events facing open hospitality.
In Nakuru, a funeral service in Bahati turned chaotic on October 11 as mourners registered their displeasure with the actions of President Ruto’s regime.
Drama ensued when a group of mourners showed open hostility toward political leaders allied to President Ruto following the impeachment of Mr Gachagua by the National Assembly.
They started shouting and booing when Ndia MP George Macharia Kariuki started highlighting road projects the government was carrying out across the country.
Things got worse when Governor Susan Kihika rose to read Dr Ruto’s condolence message, forcing her to plead with them to allow her to complete the message meant for the grieving family.
After hurriedly reading the speech, Ms Kihika thanked the mourners for giving the government valuable feedback.
“We appreciate you for giving us good feedback and informing us where we have gone wrong for us to rectify," she said.
East Africa Legislative Assembly MP Kanini Kega on his part distanced himself from the happenings in the country, saying he is based at the regional bloc headquarters in Arusha.
"I don't want to say much because I am always in Tanzania. So ask me about Tanzania, Arusha and Somalia," he said to the amusement of the mourners.
Reported by Simon Ciuri, Mercy Koskei, Mwangi Muiruri, Mwangi Ndirangu, Stephen Munyiri, George Munene, David Muchui, Joseph Kanyi, Wachira Mwangi and Maureen Ongala.
