They say a picture is worth a thousand words and what is caught on film is literally immortalised.
The year 2019 was indeed quite eventful with several incidents shaping national conversations. In the age of the smartphone and social media, photos around the incidents will never change, even when the people in it and the scenarios around them transform.
In this article, Kenyans.co.ke recalls the top photos in 2019 that summarise the year that was.
Nairobi DusitD2 Complex Attack
January 15-16, 2019
The attack on the hotel in Riverside, Nairobi complex by Al-Shabab-linked gunmen killed 21 people and wounded many others.
Kakamega Twins
April 2019
Two 'identical twins' Sharon Mathias and Melon Lutenyo were reunited through Facebook, after 19 years of living in separate homes.
The two were reunited on Tuesday, April 12, at Furfural village, were born at the Kakamega Provincial General Hospital (now Kakamega County Referral Hospital). Their story dragged on through the year as their guardians Rosemary Onyango and Angeline Omina differed on their custody. A DNA test in mid-June helped the family to resolve the issue that confirmed that the two were biological twins.
The family agreed to solve the issue out of court.
Huduma Namba
May 2019
The government conducted a 45-day phase I mass registration of Huduma Namba. According to Government Spokesperson Rt.Col. Cyrus Oguna, by the time the exercise was stopped in May, 37.7 million people had registered and about 11 million people were left out.
Bob Collymore, Ken Okoth and Joyce Laboso Succumb to Cancer
July 2019
Former Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore passed away at his home on Monday, July 1 after battling acute myeloid leukaemia. He died at the age of 61.
On July 26, former Kibra MP, Ken Okoth (41), passed on at The Nairobi Hospital after losing the battle to colorectal cancer.
Three days later on July 29, former Bomet County Governor, Joyce Laboso, 58, also succumbed to cancer after being admitted at the Nairobi Hospital for the preceding two weeks in the ICU.
Dennis Okari's Red Alert Exposé
July 2019
An exposé by NTVs Dennis Okari, that aired on Sunday night, July 14, showed how rogue supermarket officials use chemicals, to increase the shelf life of meat products, putting at risk the lives of millions of Kenyans.
The exposé elicited mixed reactions from the government to political leaders and Kenyans alike.
Census 2019
August 2019
Census 2019 started on August 24, and ended on August 31. The results were released on November 4, 2019.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Director-General Zachary Mwangi announced that the total enumerated population was 47,564,296.
The total male population was 23,548,056 and that of females was 24,014, 716, making 50.5% of the population.
Likoni Tragedy
September 2019
On Sunday, September 29, Mariam Kighenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu drowned in the Indian Ocean after their car slid off the ramp of MV Harambe ferry and plunged into the Indian Ocean. It took 14 days to retrieve their bodies and they were buried in Makueni County on October 19 amid a sustained public outcry over the apparent incompetence of Kenyan emergency service providers.
Eliud Kipchoge Shatters INEOS 1:59 Challenge
October 2019
World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge on Saturday, October 12, successfully completed the INEOS 1:59 challenge in Vienna Austria. He became the first human to run a 42-kilometre race in under 2 hours: (1:59:40).
Kipchoge went on to win the 2019 World Athletics Male Athlete of the year, beating four other contestants to retain the award, during the World Athletics Gala in November 2019.
President Uhuru Kenyatta further bestowed him with the Elder of the Golden Heart (EGH) award.
Uhuru receives BBI Report
November 2019
President Uhuru Kenyatta, on Tuesday, November 26, officially received the Building Bridges Initiative report at State House. He went on to launch the report on Wednesday, November 27, at the Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi.
King Kaka - Wajinga Nyinyi
December 2019
Popular rapper Kennedy Ombima, known to many as King Kaka, on Saturday, December 14, released a spoken word piece titled Wajinga Nyinyi.
In the 6 minutes 57 seconds Swahili rap song that became the number one trending topic on Twitter, the popular musician did not spare anyone when it came to depicting what had become of the Kenyan society.
The work reignited the conversation around the contribution of musicians and media celebrities in the fight against corruption with several other artistes taking King Kaka's cue to produce their own versions.
One of the most significant reactions to the scathing work was a threat by Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru to sue the artiste for an NYS reference he made in his work.
She would later back down but not without describing King Kaka as an attention-seeking young man who, in her viewpoint had been misguided.
