Text message that became 'Tweeting Chief's' golden egg

How many times have you received promotional text messages from mobile service providers on your phone? Countless times.

However, most people often trash such messages without even reading them. Many subscribers wish they had a way of blocking such texts.

One day in 2011, Lanet Umoja chief Francis Kariuki got such a text from Safaricom. It was about a code to create a Twitter account from where he could send messages free of charge. It did not matter the model of his phone.

Kariuki only had a Mulika Mwizi, a basic mobile phone with not many features except for a powerful flashlight from which its local name is derived.

It is that phone that propelled chief Kariuki to national fame. Until his death on Wednesday afternoon, Kariuki was known as the 'Tweeting Chief'.

By the time of his death, he was more popular than any other chief and probably widely known compared to many regional coordinators.

It remains unclear why those in the administration did not promote him despite his academic qualifications. Heg graduated with a bachelor's degree while serving as a chief.

In his tweeting life, Kariuki cultivated a consistency that earned him fame, accolades and opportunities to travel the world.

The former primary school teacher resigned to serve under the Office of the President where he immediately created a Twitter handle - @ChiefKariuki.

His first message was sent to his wife. It was successfully delivered free of charge and within seconds.

Chiefs are known for public barazas, pinning posters on estates or dropping them at residents' gates and using village elders to send emissaries, but Kariuki used Twitter to cut a niche for himself and become a role model in using technology to communicate with his people.

In an interview with CNN, the administrator said that besides saving time and reaching more than just his 30,000 constituents, information technology had helped save trees as he was not using paper for posters.

By the time of his death, Kariuki had more than 59,000 followers on Twitter and more than double that number who were receiving his communications through short message service.

He invited youths and village elders and trained them in the new communication channel before calling a baraza where he advised residents to follow him to enable them to receive his communications instantly through the free service.

He repeated that call in barazas until he reached the majority of his people. He later joined other social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.

Kariuki was born and brought up in Lanet where he returned to serve as an administrator after 21 years of teaching in different schools across the country.

Daniel Sitole, a freelancer who carried his initial story, describes Kariuki as a welcoming and humble man who loved to diligently serve his people with courage.

“He managed to break many criminal gangs in his area. At one point, he intimated to me that criminals were following him on his account on different platforms and were threatening to kill him,” Sitole said.

But Kariuki was not intimidated. He vowed to continue serving his people the best way he knew.

Sitole said besides fighting crime and illicit brews, Kariuki used social media to marshal residents in cases of emergency.

His Kiswahili tweets alerting residents about missing people and livestock became very popular.

In one incident, just a single tweet helped save schoolchildren who were under attack by bees. In the tweet, Kariuki urged residents to dash to the schools with blankets to protect the learners.

“As usual, the residents responded, although one child died. I am sure the fatalities could have been more,” resident Gabriel Kimani said.

Sitole said Kariuki was initially hesitant about giving an interview. He was not certain where the story would end.

“That story was meant to be published in one of the leading newspapers in Kenya, but editors rejected it saying it was irrelevant. They later picked it after it was published by a South African news agency, which marked the start of Kariuki's popularity among media houses, including CNN and BBC,” he said.

Kariuki fell sick on Monday and was rushed to a private hospital in Nakuru. He was referred to Nakuru County Referral Hospital on Tuesday. He died the following day.

His son, Ken, said his father suffered a pneumonia attack. He said a postmortem would be conducted to ascertain the cause of death.

Family and friends were planning to move the body to Umash Funeral Home on the outskirts of Nakuru town. Kariuki's burial is scheduled for Saturday.

News of his death was received with shock and disbelief in Nakuru and beyond. Social media platforms were awash with messages of condolence.

Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui said he was saddened by his death. He described the fallen administrator as an innovative and dynamic civil servant whose influence was felt way beyond his jurisdiction.

Kinyanjui said citizens were able to access information in a timely and effective manner through Kariuki's tweets.

“His initiative enhanced efficiency and access to government services. Out of the efforts to bridge the digital divide for the rural poor, he was recognised both at home and abroad,” the governor said.

Edited by P.O