Social media users in Kenya will today at 1p.m. (Kenyan time) honour 42 policemen who were last weekend slain in Baragoi’s Suguta valley, after the government failed to fly flags countrywide at half-mast.
According to a message circulating on Twitter and Facebook, the site’s users will post the message, “We recognize your efforts, you who died for this country @Baragoi Valley”.
The idea originator Victor Ogwela says he started the campaign after his friend survived the massacre having fallen ill prior to the police operation.
“My fans are inviting, more of their pals for the online event... I did that because I know of womeone who would have been there but wasn’t because he was sick and wouldn’t go,” said Ogwela.
Ogwela who goes by the name ‘Vico D-polloh Ogwellah has 2627 friends on facebook and 10467 followers on Twitter has been agitating government response since the incident.
“Policemen are human beings and with the kind of massacre that happened, the government would have at least, given tribute to this guys, they do so much for us, but what do they get in return? Nothing, not even a half-mast,” Ogwela told Humanipo.
The initiative is a culmination of activities to show solidarity with the Kenya Police. A number of social networking sites’ users have since blamed the government for ill-equipping the force, as over 50 police officers have been killed in the past few weeks.
On a local FM Twitter page, listeners also contributed to whether the government should have flown flags at half-mast lamenting that the government had showed less respect for the “fallen soldiers than they show politicians.”
Here are a few tweets on the same:
@RuboKagichu
We have GSU but what would the SWAT do in samburu terrain? RT@mwirigy: @984inthemorning Kenya lacks an elite force like the SWAT
@OleMartinezM
Flags should fly at half mast in honour of the fallen men and women of uniform cc @984inthemorning
@luthercorp
@984inthemorning seriously this gava is not only messing with the living they also dont knw how to respect the dead?? Kenya got issues
According to Ogwela, the 1p.m. event targets 100,000 social media users on both Facebook and Twitter.
