As police begin investigations into the mysterious disappearance of Deputy President William Ruto’s digital strategist Dennis Itumbi, his name continues to dominate online conversations.
Associates of the blogger currently recuperating at the Nairobi West Hospital had earlier claimed that he was abducted by unknown persons on Thursday afternoon as he left a barbershop along Kiambu Road.
But hours after his family reported the incident at Thindigua Police Post, fresh information emerged that a good samaritan found him badly injured and stark naked in Lucky Summer area, Kasarani.
He was reportedly rushed to Uhai Neema hospital for first aid before he was transferred to a better facility.
On the morning of Friday, 24th December 2021, social media was awash with pictures of the former State House Digital Communications Director lying helplessly in a hospital bed.
Itumbi was surrounded by a delegation of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) patrons who turned the medical room into a photo op as they all grasped for a chance to take selfies with him.
This, however, did not seem to convince a majority of netizens who were convinced the incident was stage-managed.
Some even took the chance to make jokes about the incident by unofficially launching the “Itumbi Challenge”.
Under the hashtag, Kenyans mimicked some of the photos shared by Itumbi’s friends.
In one post seen by kenyanbulletin.com, KANU youth leader Ronoh Cornelius shared a photo of a man with drops of tomato sauce of his left eye and cheeks.
“Dennis Itumbi Challenge Accepted. Sympathy Addict,” he wrote,
In their statement released on Friday, National Police Service (NPS) Spokesperson Bruno Shioso said they will be seeking to establish circumstances surrounding the suspicious incident.
He also appealed to members of the public who may have information on the same to report to any police station or their hotline numbers.
Check out some more images from the challenge below.
