Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has claimed that the hashtags “siri ni numbers” and ” occupy state house” were state-sponsored efforts meant to manipulate public sentiment.
Mwangi said that pushing the hashtag was to get young Kenyans out into the streets, knowing that the majority of them are active on social media.
According to him, the majority of Kenyan youths are hopeless and jobless due to state of economy and therefore they are ready to do anything since they “fear nothing and have nothing to lose” hence, the politician took advantage of that situation by pushing those hashtags on social media.
"They go to slums, hire goons and tell them to cause chaos during peaceful demonstrations by fighting police, robbing businesses, and fighting other protestors," he stated.He claimed that the same politician hired and mobilized goons to infiltrate protests and cause destruction.
According to him, the politicians’ aim was to give a bad name to the other side, whether their competitor, the ruling side, or the opposition side, depending on who would benefit politically.
By pushing hashtags and hiring goons, the blame goes back to protesters as such situations create confusion on who to blame.
