As President William Ruto waited for Kenyans to join his X Space, many users experienced technical issues and were unable to join.
By 2:36 PM, 22.8k people had joined, but a number of Kenyans took to their X Space accounts, stating they were trying to join but received a message saying “unable to fetch.”
Many doubted that the X Space would start successfully as President William Ruto who is the host, was unable to address those who had already joined.
The President’s initiative was scheduled for July 5 from 2 PM to 5 PM and was intended to engage with the youth.
However, it had earlier sparked backlash from thousands of Kenyans on the platform X (formerly Twitter).
The announcement of the President’s engagement was met with immediate criticism. Many Kenyans argued that the President should not dictate the terms of the conversation, emphasizing that they, as his constitutional employers, should take the lead. Over the past three weeks, they have articulated their demands through various channels, including street demonstrations, social media posts, and written essays. Despite these efforts, they feel their voices have been ignored, prompting the call for a boycott.
James Kamau, an X user, expressed the frustration felt by many: “What else does he want to hear? Haven’t we been repeating the same things over the last month? We’ve been saying it loud and clear, offline and online. What else does this man want to hear? Boycott that useless Space!”
Amid the rising calls for a boycott, influential X users, including Kimuzi, Osama Otero, Gabriel Oguda, and Hanifa Adan, have decided to take action. They plan to host their own parallel Space to counter the President’s initiative. The idea quickly gained traction, with many supporting the notion of a rival Space hosted by Kimuzi and Osama.
In a symbolic move, some suggested that the parallel Space be held in honor of Jacob Juma, a businessman whose past tweets continue to resonate with the current political climate in Kenya. A poster titled “Let’s Rage On!” has been circulating, urging Kenyans to share the information widely and boycott the President’s Space.
