Cult leader Paul Mackenzie of Good News International Church made headlines in 2023 due to his alleged false teachings that led to the loss of more than 300 lives.
When he was arrested, Mackenzie, who at the time was a hot national topic, caught the attention of Kenyans across the board when he uttered the word kitawaramba, a Swahili word that loosely translates to you will bear the consequences.
The cult leader used the word to dissuade Kenyans from speculating on what had prompted him to ask his congregants to starve themselves to death, claiming that what was going on was bigger than any Kenyan would expect.
While the cult leader is currently in custody, the phrase has been named among the top 10 words of the year in a list compiled by Time Magazine and The Associated Press.
"We wanted to share diverse examples of what folks in Germany call a gefluegeltes Wort, or 'word with wings," read part of the magazine.
The phrase uttered by Mackenzie has since become a staple in Kenyan conversation and citizens have been applying it in various contexts including to mean what you are doing will come back to bite you and linking the country's current bad economic situation to electoral choices on the ballot.
Some creatives in the country, made songs and short skits using the kitawaramba phrase. This fueled the thirst amongst Kenyans to use it even more.
Instructively, the phrase has mostly been applied to capture serious situations comically.
In 2023, words, videos, and photos went viral due to their representation of the situation in the country.
Other phrases that made the cut were coined in Australia, France, Haiti, the United States, South Africa, Japan, Taiwan, and India.
Besides kitawaramba other words that made it to the list include Kuningi (it's a lot) from South Africa, C'est la hess (it's a bummer) from France, zei (taxes) from Japan, spy balloon from the US, bwa kale (peeled wood) from Haiti, and password child from Australia.
"Some were newsy, some cultural. A couple were kind of delightful. Whatever the language, the emotions came through," read a bulletin published by the magazine.
