BY JOE MODIE
Social media can be a very unforgiving space particularly for those who do not watch their step. And that is putting it mildly.
There are people who have made it their business to insult anyone and everyone simply because social media affords them some level of anonymity.
Matters get complicated when netizens disagree on the basis of political affiliation. A good majority are those that can’t elevate their political arguments; they instead resort to raw insults.
A good example is a man named David Ngugi, who has been trending on Twitter for the better part of Thursday, for all the wrong reasons.
Azimio la Umoja luminary
We wouldn’t have known about Ngugi, had he decided not to abuse, journalist/lawyer, Wahome Thuku, a Kieleweke/Azimio la Umoja luminary.
On Wednesday evening, Thuku announced to his 139,000 followers on Facebook that Ngugi had been insulting him on the social media page, at every turn.
Apparently, Ngugi is a Tanga tanga adherent and it would appear that Thuku’s hard hitting posts, directed at DP William Ruto, do not sit well with him.
However, instead of engaging Thuku soberly, he took the direction favoured by most Tanga tanga followers; that of raw insults.
His regular insults must have rubbed the lawyer the wrong way, for he decided to do a background check on Ngugi.
Butt of jokes on social media
What he unearthed and how he decided to use it has made all the difference and left poor Ngugi the butt of jokes on social media.
When your day of reckoning arrives, social media can prove to be a very small place. Here everyone knows someone.
It so happened that Ngugi recently lost his father and his family placed an obituary in the papers. Someone who knows Ngugi well must have drawn Thuku’s attention to the obituary.
In the obituary, Ngugi’s name is tucked at the end after all his siblings have had their turn.
As is the culture in Kenyan obituaries, family members are listed, with their positions in life, indicated next to their names; mostly where they work and those who live outside the country are acknowledged accordingly.
He identifies with UDA
When Ngugi’s turn came, his name was accompanied with Guthurai put in brackets. For the look of it, Ngugi does not have an occupation worthy being put alongside his name; for all we know, he could be a hustler in Githurai, no wonder he identifies with UDA, the hustler party. Besides, Githurai is commonly associated with crime, among other vices.
Thuku pounced on the Githurai bit, underlined it and posted the obituary on his page. Expectedly Ngugi swooped down on Thuku’s page and started doing what he does best; pour bile on Thuku.
In one exchange that was captured on screenshots, Ngugi calls Thuku ‘Lawyer wa mehemehe’, loosely translated to ‘rumourmongering lawyer’
In a devastating comeback, the lawyer told him: “David Ngugi, I told you after reading this eulogy of you father, I realised you are the only imbecile in your family.” And just like that David Ngugi wa Githurai became a trending topic on Twitter.
Much later and after seeing how effective his put down on Ngugi was, Thuku, to rub salt on the injury, posted the following disclaimer: “Ok let’s agree that if you drop a huge insult on me here, don’t blame me and don’t lecture me on the direction my response will take.
And don’t play moral cop on me you will be making it worse.”
Clearly, those who live in glass house should think twice before throwing stones.