9 News Stories That Got Kenyans Talking in 2023

The adage that 'news never sleeps' never fails to impress. In 2023, various news stories ranging from politics to current affairs to human interest, among others captivated the attention of Kenyans.

The media has been observing its role as the country's watchdog, playing a key role in exposing the rare ills of society and holding governments to account as well as comprehensively covering the cases in a bid to inform members of the public.

Arguably the news event that stands out the most is the Shakahola massacre involving cult leader Paul Mackenzie, who is now facing terrorism charges for brainwashing his followers.

That being said, Viral Tea takes a look at news events that sparked conversation in Kenya in 2023:

Shakahola Massacre

It all started with a typical police report of the recovery of four bodies from a controversial fasting event at Shakahola village, Magarini constituency in Kilifi County on April 13, 2023, a matter which placed zealot pastor Paul Makenzie Nthenge of the Good News International Church at the centre of the fasting programme and was further accused of manipulating his faithful into fasting to death.

"He further alleged that there is a mass shallow grave of victims of that brainwashing totalling 31 bodies in an unidentified place at Shakahola Forest within Langobaya in Malindi sub-county," the police report indicated in part.

Another impeachment motion was tabled against her, amidst her pleas for President Ruto to dissolve the Meru County government.

Kenya Power

The monopoly power firm attracted intense criticism from Kenyans this year over four blackouts which hit the entire country. Two of them occurred twice earlier in December, leaving millions of homes in darkness.

During a similar outage on November 11, it took over 12 hours to restore power in most parts of the country. On August 25, Kenya Power confirmed the blackout, stating that the outage was caused by a general system disturbance.

Following the third blackout, President Ruto directed the Ministry of Energy led by Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir to comprehensively deal with the challenge of power blackouts including the unbundling of Kenya Power transmission lines.

The Cabinet discussed the matter extensively and resolved that the transmission line system should be unbundled so that power failure in one part does not affect the entire country.

Speaking to the press on Monday, December 11, CS Chirchir revealed that the overload was a result of the sudden demand for power supply, which caused the powerlines to drop, triggering the double blackout.

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)

Amidst the blackouts, JKIA in Nairobi was among the worst-hit critical institutions, which prompted Kenyans to question the integrity of the country's biggest airport which handles local and international flights every day.

JKIA has not been a stranger to recent power blackouts. However, in late August, a blackout that crippled operations at the airport forced Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen into radical changes.

"By Mutual consent, the contract of Mr Alex Gitari who had been the managing director of Kenya Airports Authority has been terminated. In his place Mr Henry Mugoe who has been Head of Corporate Affairs," he stated at the time.

As though that was not enough, the airport was the subject of criticism over a leaking roof as a result of the heavy rains witnessed across the country, which forced Murkomen to form an 11-member committee to investigate the mess at JKIA and Wilson Airport in Nairobi as well as Moi International Airport in Mombasa.

Azimio la Umoja Anti-Government Protests

After Raila and Ruto failed to agree on a raft of issues including the cost of living and auditing of the 2022 election results, the former called for protests, and with the worsening cost of living blamed on the government, Kenyans used the protests to voice their frustrations.

Unlike previous years where the protests were restricted to Raila's political stronghold, this year's protests touched on more populated areas, including Ukambani and satellite towns in Nairobi.

However, the protests quickly turned violent culminating in the deaths of more than 100 Kenyans in different parts of the country leading to condemnation from human rights bodies such as Amnesty International. The protests also threatened national stability forcing religious leaders to step in and demand the two leaders sit down and engage in dialogue.

Ruto and Raila have since surrendered to the demands and have committed to implement a report authored by the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO).

COB Margaret Nyakang'o

Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o made headlines in December when she was arrested, charged and released on the same day.

Nyakang'o was arraigned before a Mombasa Court over conspiracy to defraud, operating an unlicensed Sacco, forgery, and uttering false documents, contrary to section 353 of the Penal Code.

She pleaded not guilty to the four charges before the court where she was one of 11 individuals implicated in the offences. As a result, she was released on a Ksh2 million bond, with the option of a similar surety or Ksh500,000 in cash.

The arrest elicited sharp criticism from opposition leaders who claimed that the government was attempting to force her out for constantly exposing graft within high government circles. 

She was in the spotlight yet again after the High Court on Thursday, December 14 stopped her arrest and prosecution over the controversial buyout of Telkom Kenya at a cost of Ksh6 billion.

Ann Njeri Njoroge

The oil tycoon made headlines after she went missing after being reportedly linked to the importation of 100,000 metric tons of oil valued at Ksh17 billion.

When Njeri went missing, her lawyer Cliff Ombeta claimed that two individuals took advantage of her lack of an oil importing licence to lay claim to ownership of the oil.

Njeri, who narrated the chain of events that followed her abduction after she recorded a statement at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters, claimed she was caught in what she claimed was a careful and well-executed abduction when she was allegedly led to an adjacent room to record a statement, to which she discovered that it was a basement.

"The officers asked me if I had taken any drugs, and I said no. When they took me to a car, I was told to surrender my phone and give out the password, and I complied. They took me to an unknown place. I asked why I was separated from my lawyers, but they didn't respond," she told the media.

Ombeta claimed that the government had planned Njoroge's kidnapping and that sketchy power brokers wanted a piece of the juicy Ksh17 billion oil deal.

However, Energy CS Davis Chrichir accused Njeri of forging documents to take possession of 93,000 metric tonnes of diesel said to have emanated from Saudi Arabia.

The CS in a statement dismissed claims by Njeri stating there was no possibility of her owning the cargo since her application for an oil importation license was rejected on October 29 by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).

King Charles III

The visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla of Britain to Kenya was deemed a significant event that brought the country to a halt, despite it being a four-day visit.

The royalties made their maiden trip to Africa in a visit that further lifted Kenya's diplomatic profile on the global stage.

The purpose of the high-octane visit from Tuesday, October 31 to Friday, November 3, 2023, was to celebrate the warm relationship between the two countries and the strong and dynamic partnership they continue to forge.

"The visit is at the invitation of President Ruto and comes as Kenya prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence. His Majesty’s first visit to a Commonwealth nation as King is therefore to the country in which Queen Elizabeth II’s reign began, having acceded to the throne in Kenya in February 1952," the statement by the British High Commission read in part.

KCPE Blunders

Former Education Cabinet Secretaries Fred Matiang’i and the late Prof. George Magoha are widely credited with eliminating cheating in national examinations which for many years had compromised the integrity of the tests.

However, backlash ensued following admissions by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) that the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam results were marred by errors which led to students receiving inaccurate results.

In the statement dated Saturday, November 25, KNEC acknowledged receiving appeals from some affected schools which were dissatisfied with their results as received by the institutions and the candidates via the SMS code 40054.

The council divulged that some candidates had misaligned marks and graded in Kiswahili as they were placed in the Kenyan Sign Language. This matter led to a historic first, students challenging the results in court.

A series of politicians called out the government over the massive anomalies, linking them to the Kenya Kwanza administration terminating a contract with a firm based in the United Kingdom (UK), something Education CS Ezekiel Machogu clarified that the contracts are awarded yearly competitively.