State of the nation? Why Crazy Kennar has been trending

Screengrab from Crazy Kennar's video. 

Kenyan comedian, Kennedy Odhiambo, better known as Crazy Kennar has been trending on social media over a comical video that he posted.

Watched by over three million people, the viral video, dubbed “Public Servant’s House”, is a comedic piece that many have related to the state of the nation.

In the video, he features a house that contains branded merchandise from several government organisations and parastatals.

Right at the entrance of the house, Kennar uses a doormat written ‘this is a corruption free zone’. - This is common signage in many government offices. 

PUBLIC SERVANT HOUSES ???????????#STANDAGAINSTDEPRESSION pic.twitter.com/k9FnWyy0eW

— Crazy Kennar (@crazy_kennar) July 17, 2023

He is seen carrying groceries in a polythene bag - these were banned.

He then uses a mug branded KBC, which is the national broadcaster, to fetch water from a storage tank branded Homa Bay’s CDF.

On August 8, 2022, the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) was suspended after the Supreme Court of Kenya declared the fund illegal and unconstitutional.  However, early this year, the office of the Attorney General instructed to National Treasury to proceed with releasing the funds. About 4,695 needy students from Homa Bay County benefited from Sh31 million fees bursary money released by National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF).

An IEBC ballot box is what Crazy Kennar uses to store his groceries.

The government and the opposition had an issue with the IEBC panelists. This among others is one of the reasons of the ongoing demonstrations. A bipartisan committee was formed in order to find a resolution on the mode of selection of the new IEBC commissioners.

His bedsheets are from KNH and he is seen in NHIF boxers.

These bodies represent the health sector which has been facing a number of scandals lately. Not more than a month ago, a funds embezzlement scam that led to the loss of NHIF money went viral on media platforms and those involved lost their jobs.

Screengrab from Crazy Kennar's video. 

He uses a Kenya Airways-branded piece of metal as a bathroom door, wears an NTSA reflector and uses KeNHA sheets as seat covers.  

The Kenyan road and air transport depend on these governmental organisations. Last month, the Kenya Airlines Pilots Association (KALPA) called for new management in order to inspire investor confidence and restore a vibrant employee spirit.

 “Little can be achieved without passionate and patriotic employees, a conducive atmosphere should be created to allow employees to diligently do their bit in assisting Kenya Airways to meet its goals and objectives while contributing to the nation-building process,” said Mabura Executive member, KALPA. 

Additionally, NTSA proposed a mandatory retest for drivers which they never agreed to and they protested, leading to its suspension.

After showering, he slides into his evening wear, which is a traffic police officer’s uniform.

Kennar wear’s t-shirt branded Huduma Center.

The organization is mandated to transform public service delivery in order to ensure efficient, effective accessible and citizen-centric services. There are 52 Huduma centres spread across the 47 counties.

In the living room, he uses a Kenya power tablecloth.

Many Kenyans have been complaining about the new prices of electricity which they claim are currently very high.  Last year, Sh100 would buy 6.7 tokens of electricity but currently, the same amount buys 4.7 tokens.

His monitor screen has a KRA sticker.

Now, this could go the tax route – which has had Kenyans debating for months on end. But while the Finance Act remains suspended, let’s shed light on another reason KRA has been in the news lately.

Three weeks ago, the organization destroyed goods with an estimated tax value of Sh150 million. According to the Authority, the move was aimed at eradicating counterfeit good from the market. “The Inter-Agency team confiscated the goods to protect society from illicit products and enhance legitimate business among traders,” the Authority said.

Finally, Kennar’s video shows a cabinet meeting agenda board that a list of items to be discussed and names of members, including the late George Saitoti and Joseph Kamotho.

Screengrab from Crazy Kennar's video. 

This takes a more analytical approach. 

But, whether it was just for laughs or a real commentary is neither here nor there. Crazy Kennar’s video opened a big conversation on “the state of the nation” and this has had him top trends and searches across various social media platforms in Kenya.   

“64 seconds, zero words spoken, to deliver commentary on how the Kenyan state is adept at looting resources from citizens and not spending taxes in the right places; and he absolutely nailed it,” read a tweet by Ramah Nyang.

There was banter about the NHIF briefs, in fact, it became a trending topic as well.

“But where did Crazy Kennar get an NHIF boxer? He is truly the content cartel,” read a tweet by Omwamba.

Zakheem Rajan tweets, “On this, @nhifkenya wins, hio merchandise yao iko top, never seen anything like that in my many years in public service, sasa how do they even distribute? ni kama unaulizwa yule wa XXL? Large? Medium? Lol.”