The East African economic and
political hub is on the edge given that it may be just months away from
the next General Election.
Having experienced a bloody
episode of violent political conflict after the last polls, and given
the fact that the suspected masterminds are still roaming free, any
threat to peace and tranquillity in the country is often met with
virulent uproar.
That the US-based network used a
banner with a scorching Kenyan flag with screaming message of “Violence
in Kenya” irked Kenyans to an extent that they pushed for a Twitter
apology from the CNN correspondent in Nairobi, Mr David McKenzie.
“Our reporting last night was
accurate, the banner used in the bulletin was not. Apologies to all,” Mr
McKenzie, under siege from the Kenyan online community, tweeted.
“We’re having the offending video pulled. Again apologies for the mistake. It was changed on air, but not online.”
But, even as he promised that future bulletins would not have the controversial banner, the microbloggers’ did not abate.
“Africans are not going to let anyone hijack the narratives of their individual countries,” said one.
The country’s vibrant online
community oozed patriotism about Kenya being “the country with the best
athletes on the planet, MPESA (mobile transfer service)” and other
historical and tourist attractions.
“(President) Obama will not run for re-election again. We are done outsourcing presidents to them,” noted one microblogger.
That it came just moments before Kenya's Pamela Jelimo and Hellen Obiri won the women's titles at the world indoor games in Turkey stepped up patriotic tweets.
“#SomeoneTellCNNhakuna mbrrr cha! (everything is alright!),” noted another blogger.
“Kenya is not under attack…give us a break. Did you cover us when we got a new Constitution?” yet another added.
There were also the hilarious,
but serious, tweets, such as those mimicking the
“you-should-know-people” line, which entered the daily lexicon as a line
to tell a person to watch your tongue.
(Daily Nation)
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