[WATCH]: Safaricom Attempts to Extricate Itself From #GithuraiMassacre

Posted by Javan Onguru 8/04/2026 10:50:00 pm

When the Earth Shakes, So Does the Narrative

Natural disasters have an extraordinary way of exposing far more than collapsed buildings and fractured roads. They expose governments. An earthquake is an unforgiving auditor. It tests the strength of infrastructure, the preparedness of emergency services and the resilience of communities. Just as importantly, it tests the character of those in power. The recent twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela have once again demonstrated a truth that extends well beyond South America. When catastrophe strikes, governments face two battles. The first is against the disaster itself. The second is against the story that emerges from it. Too often, the latter begins to eclipse the former. The Battle for Information In the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes, reports suggested that rescue efforts struggled to match the scale and urgency of the devastation. Journalists arriving in some of the hardest-hit areas encountered not only scenes of destruction, but increasing restrictions on access. As c...

On Tuesday 25 June 2024, at the zenith of the world-famous #RejectFinanceBill2024 and #OccupyParliament protests, Safaricom switched off the Internet on the night of the Githurai massacre as Kenya Police descended on Githurai, slaughtering countless Kenyans in their wake.

The country entered a long night of communications blackout and nobody knew where anybody was or if they were safe. Come Wednesday morning, we were informed that no fewer than 22 bodies had arrived at the Nairobi City Mortuary overnight. Some of the bodies from the Githurai massacre, we now learn, were dumped at Kware in Mukuru Kwa Njenga.

In a morbidly bizarre twist, the woman who identified the mass grave dumpsite was led there, after weeks of searching, by her dead sister who, apparently, appeared to her in a dream to pinpoint the location of her body. And as fate would have it, the first body that was recovered by the young men she enlisted to assist her belonged to her dead sister.

Angry residents soon began to clamour, expressing displeasure and demanding for answers, not in the least because the local police station is barely 50 metres from the dumpsite graveyard. But all they got was the now-famous William Ruto response.