Khalif Kairo, Gloria Ntazola & Other Kenyans Who Went Viral In 2023

As we bid goodbye to 2023, several ordinary Kenyans have had their lives turned upside down thanks to actions that have swiftly grabbed attention across the country's internet space.

Maybe they drove a county enforcement officer to a satellite town far from the city or got jilted by their lovers after travelling more than 500 kilometres. Maybe they shaped work culture at workplaces or changed the common perception of barbershops, these individuals have shaped conversations offline and online.

Social media doesn’t take holidays in Kenya as anything and everything can become a major topic of discussion across Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, WhatsApp and YouTube among others. 

Here are the ordinary Kenyans who went viral in 2023:

Kevin Mboya

Kenyans took to Twitter on Friday, January 27 to express concern over social media influencer Kevin Mboya who has not posted on the platform for nearly two days. Mboya on Thursday, January 26 shared a post on Twitter (now X) revealing that he embarked on an 8-hour 35-minute journey from Nairobi to Kwale to surprise his girlfriend, who was celebrating her birthday then.

He added that he had not contacted her for the previous 24 hours, with the belief that she had forgotten that he knew when her birthday was.

Nonetheless, this didn’t stop him from embarking on the 502-kilometre journey to the coastal county, carrying a bouquet of flowers and waiting for her outside her office upon his arrival. He did not post the aftermath of the meeting as worries regarding his social media absence for close to two days grew.

Taking to his YouTube channel later on, Mboya called out his girlfriend for ghosting him.

“I told myself maybe she didn’t want to see me or maybe she had left the building with another door. I left and went back to my friend’s place in Mombasa. The next day it dawned on me that maybe this lady doesn’t want anything to do with me. I decided to come back to Nairobi," he stated.

“Up to today, she has never texted me back and even now I don’t see her status on WhatsApp, I don’t know what happened so that’s how things turned out. And that’s why I had to come back with the flowers because I never found the person I was supposed to give the flowers to so I had to come back with them. I’m yet to hear from her. Maybe one day she will come out and tell me this is what happened, as of now I know nothing."

Mboya would later ask doubters to let him heal in peace, while refuting claims that he was merely clout chasing. In an interview with NTV, he declined to have his girlfriend called on air to corroborate his story.

Gloria Ntazola

TikToker Gloria Ntazola went viral for confronting a Nairobi County enforcement officer, popularly known as Kanjo after entering her vehicle without her permission.

Ntazola in the video she posted on her Instagram profile was heard angrily and verbally compelling the officer to explain why he illegally entered her car in response to an alleged parking offence.

In a subsequent interview with NTV, she stood by her actions, revealing that she drove the officer all the way to Kitengela to a point where it was difficult to get a matatu back to the city, abandoning him there as a means of teaching him a lesson.

"I could not allow him to bully me. I locked him in my car and decided that we should waste time together. I wanted to take him on a long ride, but it was a bit late. I used the Expressway to Kitengela," she divulged.

"I took him to Kitengela a place where he could not get a matatu. I left him there and told him to spend his money to get back to the CBD."

The incident sparked heated discussions online regarding the treatment of citizens by city council officers daily.

Ndagire Renova

Though from Burundi, the 14-year-old hawker who went viral after his groundnuts were spilt by County askaris, popularly known as kanjos along Luthuli Avenue.

The unfortunate incident which was heavily criticised on social media caught the attention of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja who hosted Renova in his office in response to persistent calls by Nairobi residents to the governor to get to the bottom of the matter.

This followed a video showing him crying uncontrollably in front of members of the public during the incident.

However, the Governor divulged that Renova did not comply with the rules hawkers are expected to adhere to, following his fresh directives targeting their operations in the Central Business District (CBD).

Sakaja was also stunned to learn how the incident uncovered an ongoing child trafficking syndicate in the Kenyan capital, which prompted him to meet the Burundian Ambassador to Kenya Ntahonkuriye Emmernece asking her to rescue her fellow national.

"This is a boy who should be in school in his home country. We will protect him and ensure his safety and well-being. In the end, all things work together for the good," he went on.

Mwende Frey

Fridah Mwende, alias Mwende Frey, the owner of the hugely-popular Man's Chamber Barbershop and Spa at Kamaki's along the Eastern Bypass in Ruiru, Kiambu County (near the Thika Road roundabout, opposite Delta petrol station), has been an internet sensation for close to a year for changing the scope of male-run barbershops worldwide.

The 28-year-old, one of the most prominent female barbers in Nairobi whose barbershop exclusively employs young, skilled women equipped with sultry overtures that have won her plaudits and critics at once, has had feature interviews with Citizen Digital and German state-owned international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW) as well as features by several local digital media houses, Viral Tea included.

However, she went viral in October when she made an emotional appeal regarding online trolls who had been allegedly attacking her business.

Mwende revealed that despite her having developed a personal resistance to the trolls, she lamented waking up every day to derogatory comments on the social media platform, some have gone to the extent of demeaning her viral barbershop business.

"I have been there for you guys and you're trolling my business. You can troll me all you want but why are you trolling my business, like what's wrong with you KOX?" she lamented in tears.

"You guys need to change. People do a lot to keep their businesses pushing. For me, this is not about profits and it's not about clout. I can stop working and I won't struggle a day."

Comedian Njugush however poked holes into her sentiments, highlight a purported case of double standards on her part. He shared a screenshot of an X post on July 11, 2023, whereby Mwende had accused him of allegedly summoning his fan base and friends in the Kenyan showbiz and entertainment scene to defend him from a flood of online trolls.

Khalif Kairo

Kairo, born Joseph Kairo Wambui, is the founder of Kai & Karo Motors and currently leads as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He is a multifaceted individual known for his diverse talents and achievements.

His passion for automobiles goes beyond the ordinary; he is a genuine car enthusiast, a passion that not only drove up his interests but has also been the cornerstone of his business ventures.

He got his first job as a car salesman at age 18 after failing to join a university but quit the job to start his car import business. He was forced out by his partners but bounced back resoundingly to start his current company, growing it to one of the most popular car dealing companies in the country.

At the age of 21, Kairo became a father to a son who was born approximately two months after quitting his freelance job to pursue his brand. On X, he has gained popularity for both good and controversial reasons over his opinions, which can be seen by critical thinkers as a means of capitalizing on monetization on X.

Kairo's one-on-one meeting with Mwende at his offices on Wednesday, September 27 sparked widespread rumours of a collaboration in the works.

Eve Maina

Just like Kairo, Maina has gained popularity over controversial opinions, though her hard-hitting sentiments regarding life and masculinity have won her plaudits among Kenyan men in the era of Amerix.

She, who is also an avid gym-goer, is a young Kenyan entrepreneur who is the founder of Shoe Space Africa, a business that imports and distributes shoes both wholesale and retail to bring high-end shoe production to Kenya and provide employment for Kenyans.

On Monday, June 26, she stirred the pot following her advice to her fellow countrypeople to seek better opportunities abroad.

She believed that her peers under the age of 30 have the best chance of leaving Kenya for a period of time to grow themselves in terms of career and individually in other countries with better-developed systems, noting that it would be harder to build themselves on home soil owing to the current and torrid state of the economy.

"I said this and I will say it again, if you are below 30, trying to build yourself up, leave this country.

"Go work hard, invest back here and come back. Kama haukujijenga era ya Uhuru, sai itakua 100x harder (if you did not build yourself during the Uhuru era, it will be 100 times harder)," she tweeted.

Two months before, on Wednesday, April 26, Maina had urged Kenyans without families tying them down to leave the country for better opportunities, acknowledging that despite the difficulties, they would be in a better place than their peers back home.

Christine Keni

The content creator on Wednesday, April 5 went viral thanks to her one-minute, 12-second video offering a glimpse of her day working as a Brand Ambassador for Light Art Club, which has offices at Westlands in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).

From sweets depending on someone's daily mood to coffee in the sun, from listening to her favourite songs at work to listing trends for the day include Maandamano (she wrote it as Maandamanzz) in response to the Azimio la Umoja demonstrations, which were called off temporarily to allow for bipartisan talks with the government, presented during her meeting.

Furthermore, Keni, on expressing that she felt sleepy, had got onto some cushions to take a nap for hours before waking up to play video games through a PlayStation console provided by the office.

She then enjoyed some lunch; chicken wings with a side of chips (French Fries) while browsing through her phone before getting back to work and shooting video content for the company. After a cup of water, she then headed out of the office on her way home.

Her day at the office sparked conversation regarding the work culture in offices, with companies forced to embark on radical shifts to satisfy the Generation Z population in the country.