In 2021, the country was from time to time treated with shocking stories that formed nationwide debates.
Below are eight of such stories;
1.) Lawrence Warunge
In January 2021, a university student confessed to killing a construction worker and four of his family members in Kiambu County.
Warunge told detectives that he accessed his parent's house through the rear door and proceeded to kill his mother who was in the kitchen. His cousin heard the commotion and went to the aid of Warunge's mother, only to be hacked to death.
The suspect later went to his brother's bedroom and killed him before hacking his father to death.
Before entering the house, he had hacked the farmhand.
2.) Caroline Kangogo
Police constable Caroline Kangogo grabbed national headlines when she allegedly shot dead an officer, John Ogweno, at Kasarani police station in Nakuru County.
The constable would escape the scene and head to Juja in Kiambu County where she killed her second victim.
Kangogo would be found almost two weeks later having shot herself dead at her parents home in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
3.) Kianjokoma and Kitengela Brothers
In a span of two weeks during the month of August, two families lost their children.
In Kianjokoma, Embu County, two brothers Benson Njiru Ndwiga, 22, and Emmanuel Marura Ndwiga, 19, died under mysterious circumstances on August 4, 2021, while in police custody.
Their deaths caused a public outrage both in Embu where demonstrations were ongoing and the entire East African region, where the social media hashtag #JusticeforKianjokomabrothers trended for three consecutive days.
Before the dust could settle, another family from Kitengela was coming to terms with the death of their two sons, 30-year-old Fredrick Mureithi Wanjiru and 25-year-old Victor Mwangi Wanjiru, who were killed by a mob in Kitengela over suspicion of being livestock thieves.
The brothers were accompanied by two of their friends, Mike George, 29, and Nicholas Musa, 28, who were also murdered.
4.) DP Ruto banned from going to Uganda
Deputy President William Ruto was on his way to Uganda when he was blocked at the airport.
The DP's communication team issued a statement saying the DP was advised to seek clearance from the Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet, Joseph Kinyua before traveling.
Speaking on the matter, the DP stated the decision to deny him authority to leave the Country was politically instigated following the emergent leadership differences between him and President Uhuru Kenyatta allies.
5.) First female Chief Justice
On Tuesday, April 27, the Judicial Service Commission nominated Lady Justice Martha Koome to be the Chief Justice following extensive interviews and retiring of her predecessor, David Maraga.
Koome, who was sworn in on May 21, 2021, became the first woman Chief Justice in the Country.
6.) Masten Wanjala
Wanjala made headlines in 2021 after he confessed to drugging and murdering more than 10 children since 2019.
The suspected serial killer was arrested on July 14, 2021, and held at Jogoo Road police station. He would, however, escape on October 13, 2021.
Two days later, residents spotted Wanjala in Mukhweya village, Bungoma County, and lynched him.
7.) Pandora Papers
The Pandora Papers are financial documents containing 12 million files and obtained by the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The papers linked President Uhuru Kenyatta to offshore bank accounts and companies valued at over Ksh3.3 billion.
The leaked documents detailed that the Kenyatta family had amassed wealth offshore and in the tax havens of Panama and the British Virgin Islands.
The exposé broke the internet with the hashtag Ksh3.5 trillion, Pandora Papers, trending across the globe.
8.) Mwingi Bus tragedy
33 individuals lost their lives after a bus plunged into Enziu River in Kitui County on December 4, 2021.
The tragedy, which was documented in a one minute, two seconds amateur video, hit headlines not only in Kenya but across the world.
The government has since put in place a plan to redesign the River Enziu Bridge.
