Top 10 Most Read Articles On Viral Tea In 2022

You could tell from someone always pestering their parents to buy newspapers every day for them to read that one day, just one day, they would be on that newspaper themselves, but as a journalist.

That was a long time ago. Things have changed…rapidly and it is not just the byline nor the media house you write for that makes you amongst the cream of the crop, or during the festive season, the one that gets to drink with the elders at every family gathering. 

The rise of digital journalism has seen increased demand for news coverage on the spot instead of having to wait for prime-time news bulletins at the end of every day, and with that came the rise of digital media platforms with one age-old goal and a few extras; to inform, entertain and educate not just any audience but a target audience.

As a wholly-digital media house, Viral Tea has been giving you 365-day news coverage across several categories, even gossip, in a way that fits its main target audience; Kenyans between the ages of 20-35 who mostly don’t go a day without checking out what’s trending on social media.

In the process, 10 articles rose to the top in 2022 in terms of readership, despite shifting to a new and more robust website in the middle of the year. These are:

I Called Uhuru- Ruto

You must be wondering why a phone call between two political heavyweights became the most-read article on the Viral Tea website in 2022…and the biggest breaking news story in its history!

Following President William Ruto’s victory in the August 9 general elections and two days after he won in the Supreme Court battle, he disclosed he had a telephone call with former President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday, September 7, with less than a week to the former’s swearing-in on Tuesday, September 13.

"I had a telephone conversation with my boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta.

"We discussed the just concluded General Election and the transition as envisaged by our democratic tradition and practice," he wrote.

Ruto had on Monday, September 5 fired a cheeky salvo at Uhuru after the Supreme Court verdict, confessing that he had not spoken to his boss for months as he awaited his congratulatory message, which he delivered to him on the eve of the inauguration ceremony. 

This article amassed over 400 pageviews in the first 10 minutes of publishing, the most in any article since Viral Tea’s inception in February 2021. In total, it garnered 3,347 views.

List Of Orders, Promises By Ruto After Being Sworn-In

Published on Tuesday, September 13, on the day President Ruto was sworn in, this article focused on the Head of State making a series of orders and promises in his inauguration speech.

The cost of fertiliser, the port of Mombasa, IEBC, the Judiciary, the powers of the Inspector General of Police (IG) and Uhuru’s next assignment was covered in an article over 2,500 Kenyan readers clicked on to find out what the orders would be as Ruto assumed office.

DCI Storm Cleophas Malala's House [VIDEO]

Former Kakamega senator, Cleophas Malala found himself in the spotlight when detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) raided his house, as seen by videos that were shared on social media on September 1, 2022.

A warrant of arrest was issued against him on Wednesday, August 31 on accusations that he was involved in violent acts during the Kakamega governorship polls.

The DCI officers who raided his home encountered Malala's mother, Martha Malala, who caused dramatic scenes to the point of daring the officers to arrest her.

Winnie Odinga, Sankok, Kalonzo's Son Elected To EALA

The election of the daughter and son of Azimio la Umoja heavyweights Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) sparked huge conversation across the country.

Winnie Odinga and Kennedy Kalonzo were elected on Thursday, November 17 to sit in the Parliament based in Arusha, Tanzania by legislators in the Senate and National Assembly.

Ex-KBC Journalist Goes After AMWIK

Viral Tea’s most-read exclusive story touched on former KBC senior television producer Jackline Lidubwi going after the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) over loopholes regarding the appointment of its Executive Director.

She claimed that she was shortchanged given that she had applied for the role on Friday, September 16 as AMWIK sought to replace the departed Judie Kaberia. Five days later, she was shortlisted for the position and received a phone call and follow-up email from AMWIK's authorized representative and chair, who had invited her for an interview.

She was then listed as a finalist for the top position and was invited to discuss salary terms and the start date as well as a congratulatory call thereafter on being selected for the position. However, the board carried out their background checks on her, which she got wind of, and amidst a rift in the board, was dropped for another candidate.

Her sentiments thus triggered a heated clash between her and AMWIK as well as within the board, with The Standard reporting that four members have since resigned.

Scare After Passenger Bus Plunges Into River In Kisii County [PHOTOS]

The article written on Saturday, November 26 involved a bus full of passengers belonging to Guardian, which plunged into River Nyambera in Kisii County.

Reports had indicated that at least four passengers - all males - received emergency treatment at the Kisii County Referral Hospital after sustaining injuries, seven kilometres from the scene of the accident.

The bus was heading to Kisii Town from Daraja Mbili when a canter that broke its brakes hit it from behind, plunging into the river. At the time of the accident, 21 passengers were on board the bus.

Miguna Miguna Gives Update On Ruto Lifting Red Alerts

Ahead of President Ruto eventually lifting red alerts against lawyer Miguna Miguna and allowing him to return home from exile in Canada, many Kenyans were going after him in huge numbers compelling him to issue an update on whether or not the Head of State was working to lift the red alerts, as he had promised him.

“Fellow Kenyans, please go easy on your trolling habits.

"To answer your incessant questions, I have not received confirmation that President William Ruto has lifted the red alerts Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga imposed against me. I'll update you if I do,” he stated.

Miguna's statement did not match the one he issued on Tuesday, September 13 after the swearing-in of President Ruto where the Head of State was to assure him that the red alerts would be lifted the following day.

On Thursday, October 20, Miguna returned home, five years since that dramatic deportation to Canada from Kenya under former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure.

Inside Susan Kihika's Ksh20 Million Nakuru Govt Car [PHOTOS]

Governors are known to have lush rides as official county government cars. In Nakuru governor Susan Kihika’s case, she set the bar higher with the introduction of a 2021 Land Rover Defender as her official county vehicle.

A photo of the vehicle surfaced on Thursday, August 25 showing the front end of the vehicle, with the number plate GVN032A, hours after the same vehicle was captured with a county number plate.

This sparked an uproar on social media for two reasons; the misplaced spending that Kenyans have for years accused politicians of instead of using the funds to improve county service delivery and the fact that the car is so rare across the country that it is only owned by a few wealthy Kenyans.

Hundreds To Lose Jobs In Nation Media Group Mass Firing

Fears of the Nation Media Group (NMG) threatening to trim down its workforce of hundreds of employees were realised after the Group's Chief Executive Officer Stephen Gitagama announced on Wednesday, November 30 that it was embarking on a mass redundancy exercise.

The media house which runs Daily Nation, NTV, Taifa Leo, Business Daily, Nation FM and online publishers such as Nairobi News had restructured itself to boost its business transformation agenda to assure success in the long term but warned that this would come in the cost of sending many staff home, weeks to the festive season.

NMG later surprised the country by going after its most-experienced editors and journalists instead of the usual handing over of notices to anyone it felt was not of value to the regional media house. This saw big names such as Mutuma Mathiu, Churchill Otieno, Vincent Achuka among others leave the Daily Nation newspaper and Mark Masai, as well as Dennis Okari, leave NTV.

This action came in the middle of one of the worst forms of crisis in Kenyan media which saw rival media houses warn their staff of mass redundancies, even Capital Group which runs Capital FM.

Photo Of Woman On Phone Call Behind Nyashinski Goes Viral

Two big headlines happened on Thursday, August 25; Governor Susan Kihika’s sleek new ride and a woman who was captured making a phone call behind award-winning musician and entertainer Nyamari Ongegu, alias Nyashinski during the swearing-in of Nairobi governor, Johnson Sakaja.

What drove Kenyans insane was that the two were both on phone call postures at the same time, and Nyashinski’s wife, Zia Bett, was seated right behind him unaware of the events that were unfolding on social media.

This was the moment that set the Kenyan internet on fire, with many netizens making hilarious memes and comments about the situation. Nonetheless, the two took a picture together after the ceremony.