Uhuru Returns to Social Media Three Years After Deactivating His Facebook and Twitter Accounts

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has made a return to social media, three years after he deactivated his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Kenyatta, who left office in August after a 10-year reign, has a new Twitter account under the name ‘Office of the 3rd Retired President of Kenya’ (@4thPresidentKE), which has nearly 15,000 followers.

His Facebook and Twitter accounts were disabled in March 2019 over what then State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita termed as “unauthorized access.”

But in 2020, Uhuru shed light on why he deactivated his social media pages, saying it was due to the insults and negative comments he received from Kenyans. Kenyatta said he preferred physical engagement as opposed to social media, which denied him peace of mind.

“Afadhali nipige story na mama [his wife], nilale, niamke, niende kazi na dunia iendelee,” Kenyatta said. “Mimi sio mtu wa hiyo [social media]. Ata Twitter niliondoka huko nikaona hii kitu ni bure ni matusi tu hakuna kitu inaendelea huko. Unakaa hapo unasoma, hulali,” he added.

At the time of the deactivation, Uhuru was the most followed Kenyan with more than three million followers on Twitter.