The Head of Creative Economy at the Office of the President, Dennis Itumbi, has dismissed allegations that hired goons are invading key towns in the Mt Kenya region to silence dissenting voices in the aftermath of the July 7 protests.
In a statement on Wednesday morning, Itumbi accused a section of social media influencers affiliated with the opposition of spreading fake news to spark fear among the residents.
In what he termed as a 'coordinated wave of goonism', Itumbi claimed that a group of individuals were out to peddle lies that key Mt Kenya regions were being targeted for opposing President William Ruto's administration.
According to him, the bloggers used digital platforms, including WhatsApp and other social media platforms, to spread alarm and panic among the locals of the Mt Kenya region.
He further revealed that the fake news resulted in the unnecessary disruption of businesses due to panic over a possible recurrence of the Saba Saba Day demonstrations.
"Tonight, a coordinated wave of digital goonism is targeting Mt. Kenya towns. From Kutus to Kagio, Embu to Ruiru, fear is being weaponised. A few reckless individuals have taken to WhatsApp and social media to peddle a dangerous lie: that goons are invading towns," Itumbi clarified.
"Shops are closing, businesses shutting down, and panic is spreading, all because of fake alarms engineered by saboteurs hiding behind keyboards," he added.
While commenting on the matter, the State House official also took a swipe at the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over his controversial hashtag dubbed #WeAreAllKikuyus.
The former DP on Tuesday evening launched an online movement to counter allegations that linked the Kikuyu ethnic community to the wave of looting and destruction of property witnessed during the Saba Saba protests.
To shore up support for his ethnic community, Gachagua tweeted the viral hashtag that is currently sweeping across social media platforms, as thousands of online users joined in solidarity.
However, Itumbu in his latest statement reiterated that all Kenyans are one people and should not be divided along tribal lines.
To counter the former DP's viral hashtag, the renowned digital strategist tweeted #WeAreAllKenyans to quell the social tension currently being witnessed on the internet.
"Don't fear forward. Call out the cowards. We are all Kenyans, and no part of Kenya should be hijacked by digital terror," Itumbu wrote.
