Tensions Flare as Itumbi Heckled by ‘Wantam’ Chants at KK Mwenyewe’s Burial

The crowd had come to mourn a young star, but grief quickly turned to fury when Dennis Itumbi took the microphone. What began as a tribute ended in raw chants of protest echoing through Nyamweru.

State House’s digital strategist arrived bearing promises: a KSh 1 million donation from President Ruto and pledges of scrapped taxes and digital jobs. “We’ll help you form a sacco,” he said, pitching a brighter future for Kenya’s content creators. But the audience wasn’t having it. A man shouted “Uongo!” and others erupted with the damning chant: “Wantam! Wantam!”

Itumbi tried to salvage the moment. “You can shout all you want,” he snapped, before cutting short his remarks to muted applause. Just minutes earlier, mourners had watched one of KK’s biting TikToks mocking political opportunism—a moment that now seemed prophetic.

Zacharia Kariuki, known as KK Mwenyewe, was laid to rest after his sudden death at 23. His mother’s eulogy was brief but heavy with emotion. “The silence is loud with your absence,” she said, her voice cracking under the weight of loss.

As the ceremony wore on, Itumbi touted more promises: upcoming jobs for influencers like Jay Kafengo under a State House-backed digital programme. But many attendees, still reeling from inflation, unemployment, and the violent crackdown on Gen Z protests, were unmoved.

This was not an isolated backlash. Since the June protests, political figures aligned with Ruto, including Susan Ngugi, have been heckled at public events. Public trust, it seems, is wearing thin.

As KK Mwenyewe was buried beneath the Kiambu soil, the chants faded—but they left behind a sharpened warning to those in power. The crowd wasn’t just grieving. It was speaking. And it’s not done yet.