Mwende Frey Slams Online Trolls Attacking Her Barbershop Business [VIDEO]

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 has made an emotional appeal regarding online trolls who have been allegedly attacking her business.

In a video seen by Viral Tea which she shared on her X (formerly Twitter) account, Mwende revealed that despite her having developed a personal resistance to the trolls, she lamented waking up everyday to derogatory comments on the social media platform, some have gone to the extent of demeaning her viral barbershop business.

According to her, the trolls were damaging as some of the bullies happened to be people she has helped out of tough ordeals in the past.

Mwende Frey calls out X (Twitter) trolls for attacking her viral barbershop business#ViralVideos pic.twitter.com/N6xbYipVNK — Viral Tea Ke (@ViralTeaKe) October 31, 2023

"You scroll the timeline and its just people making fun of your business and that's what really hurts me. People I have helped, people I have been there for...when they were hungry, others locked out of their homes.

"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.

Mwende further lamented that she cannot face up to the trolls in person as much as she would have wanted to, hence her anger on the matter.

Instead, she appealed to them to change their habits, making it crystal clear that she began her barbershop business out of passion and not to chase clout.

"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.

"I'm married and I'm okay but for me this is a passion. I want to build something for myself and I want to have an impact in life. Some of us feel like if we don't have an impact in life, you've not done anything worthwhile," she went on, adding that her Man's Chamber Barbershop was not just an ordinary business.

In response, Khalif Kairo, born Joseph Kairo Wambui, who founded Kai & Karo Motors and currently leads as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), released a video urging Mwende to ignore the trolls as most of them are doing so to avoid being idle. 

"Mwende Frey, stop crying. Everybody has problems, everybody has issues...the people who bully you play games the whole day and lost their money; he is bored and has seen you post your business and decided to use it to vent.

"It's never that serious. He even doesn't know what he will eat for supper...he has his own pressures too so don't cry. Keep rubbing your business on our faces and tell those girls to twerk, make more twerking videos, shave people, do everything, leave alone the trolls," he stated.

Notably, Mwende and Kairo met face to face on Wednesday, September 27 at the latter's offices where they explored a potential partnership between each other, with the 27-year-old remarking that she was delighted to have learnt vital business tips from Kairo.

"Paid a courtesy visit to Business Mogul Khalif Kairo. I walked out richer, with million-dollar business knowledge and with special goodies for the Man's Chamber Members Club. The sky is the limit now!" remarked Mwende.

Neither of the X bigwigs revealed further details of their one-of-a-kind meeting, which sent mixed reactions on the platform with users making assumptions about how a collaboration between their businesses would look like.

Meanwhile many netizens also followed by sending Mwende messages of encouragement and advice to ignore the critics.

Cyberbullying in Kenya

Cyberbullying affects all spectrums of people and carries a negative impact.

The vice that has occurred on multiple occasions online has seen adults, children, influential people, media personalities, celebrities and former President Uhuru Kenyatta all affected, the latter who was forced to deactivate his X account before returning in November 2022.

A report released by the African Development Bank earlier this year revealed that women are 27 times more likely to be harassed online than men and that up to 70 per cent of women have endured cyber violence.

The report added that more than one in every five women in Kenya has experienced cyberbullying with the technology-facilitated violence comprising of a spectrum of behaviours including stalking, bullying, sexual harassment, defamation, hate speech and exploitation.