Anti-government protesters display placards along Moi Avenue in Nairobi on July 23, 2024.
President William Ruto used the slogan “hatupangwingwi” (loosely translated, it’s Sheng for “you won’t tell us what to do”) in a bid to appeal to the youth during his 2022 campaigns and that is the exact attitude young Kenyans feel he has adopted with his latest Cabinet picks.
Ventilating on TikTok, a social media platform where most of Generation Zoomer (Gen Z) Kenyans have found a home, some felt the President went full “sipangwingwi” mode as their appeals to reconstitute Cabinet with fresh faces fell on deaf ears.
Anti-government protesters march along Moi Avenue in Nairobi on July 23, 2024.
Mr Kipchumba Murkomen, who had featured in angry conversations about government officials’ often flamboyant display of wealth, was nominated to the Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports docket with the irony not lost on many.
“Violence,” is what they call such a slap in the face on social media. Its variations include vawulence, fayolenci or other related versions. One observer thought this was the best form of “fayolenci” from State House.
“To make matters worse, Murkomen (is) CS for Ministry of Youth (rolling with laughter emoji) fayolensi,” she wrote under a video shared in which Dr Ruto was reading his line-up.
Another one posted “hatupangwingwi”, adding a flexed muscle and a smiley face-in-sunglasses emoji. Mr Murkomen, appearing to acknowledge the bad reputation he has had with Kenya’s youth, framed his acceptance of the nomination in an apologetic tone.
“I would like to unreservedly apologise to every Kenyan who I may have offended through my words, my deeds and my conduct, including my lifestyle, in the last two years of my public service,” wrote Mr Murkomen on X. Dr Ruto, in an X Spaces forum he had on July 5, had addressed the issue of sending home his entire Cabinet.
“I know you have said that I should not make changes... but ... you don’t have the job I have. There are many things that I have to do to be able to get things done,” he had said.
One of the speakers in the Space told Dr Ruto: “Don’t reshuffle the Cabinet ... We’ve seen that one before. What we are seeing is just transferring incompetence from one field to another department, another ministry. Please get new faces. You have a lot of people around you. You have brains behind you.”
Same as the word “recycled”, the phrase “tone-deaf” also gained prominence in online conversations about President Ruto’s Cabinet picks, and they were all over the posters shared to encourage protesters to pour on the streets of Nairobi today.
