Kenya's Trending Topics on December 12, 2017

Kenyans were on Tuesday engaged in various heated discussions centred around the Jamhuri Day commemoration that was taking place.

Social media users were fascinated by the low turn out at the Moi International Stadium-Kasarani, compared to the turn out witnessed during President Uhuru Kenyatta's inauguration.

Using the hashtag #EmptyKasarani and the topic "Kasarani", netizens warned that majority of Kenyans were showing their rebellion against an "illegitimate Presidency".

Here are some of the comments.

#Jamhuri Day

The hashtag topped trends on Twitter as Kenyans commemorated the day on which the nation ceased to be a British colony and attained independence.

It is also credited as having been the day on which the Kenyan flag was hoisted for the first time.

In his address to the nation on Tuesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta reminded Kenyans of the colours of the flag, urging them to honour the legacy of those who fought for the independence of the country by living up to the symbolic meaning of the colours of the Kenyan standard.

The topic also dominated Google trending searches for the day under the titles "Kenya Independence Day" and "Jamhuri Day".

The search engine also changed its homepage banner to celebrate the day.

However, some of the social media users used the hashtag to share photos of areas where the turnout was extremely  low, especially in Opposition strongholds.

Sachangwan

The topic trended after a tragic accident occurred at Sachangwan along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway killing over 20 people.

According to NTSA, a truck which was speeding failed to negotiate a corner and unfortunately rammed into oncoming vehicles.

Witnesses claimed that the driver lost control of the vehicle and collided with more than 10 vehicles killing close to 30 people.

Here are some comments that were shared.

Head of State Commendation

The topic trended after snapshots of a gazette notice by President Uhuru Kenyatta emerged online and went viral.

The Gazette notice listed the names of Kenyan citizens who had attained the honour of a Head of State Commendation.

Names on the civilians who had been awarded were especially fascinating to the public after Martin Kimotho alias "Githeri Man" was listed among the nominees.

Here are some of the comments that were shared.

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