Raila Junior Odinga’s Tweet Leaves Kenyans Online Fuming

A tweet by Raila Junior Odinga, the youngest son of ODM chief Raila Odinga, has infuriated Kenyans on social media.

In the tweet, Junior called for a ban on washing of cars by the roadside in Lavington.

He posted a photo of a young man washing a vehicle by the roadside and captioned it: “At the risk of sounding unpopular I wish there was a bylaw that made it illegal to wash your car at the roadside in #Lavington.”

“People need to understand that adherence of laws and policies apply to everyone, it’s not about being privileged, this city needs law and order proper zoning and safety standards. These are the difficult conversations we need to have,” said Junior.

He added: “Nairobi county is mandated to create safe car washing bays, this idea of someone popping up a carwash where ever they feel like is ludicrous.”

His tweet rubbed a majority of Kenyan online users the wrong way although a few of them agreed with him.

Many castigated him for what they termed as disregard for the many unemployed youth who have resorted to manual jobs like washing cars to make a living.

Here are some of the reactions;

@Trackmann noted: “Young men are eking out an honest living and doing their best to survive in this difficult Nairobi but a blue blood who doesn’t know what it means to go hungry wants them kicked out his pretty neighborhood.”

@DicksonAvulala tweeted: “After the HandCheque brought Billions into your family’s ballooning bank accounts consequently guaranteeing you an easy life, you now think everyone went to Harambee house for a similar HandCheque. Let Kenyans hustle even if it means turning these posh estates into slums.”

@MutichiloMike wrote: “While the whole nation is angry at police brutality, here is a privileged kid angry at a guy washing a car to make a living. This country is under state capture!”

@abrahamkhatera commented: “This is a boy who has never gone without food. No nothing about this world.”

@JoseSosi replied: “Let the poor do what they have to do anyhow. That guy will make his clean Sh100 without letting anyone die for their own benefit. That is how he will take care of his family. You are a big boy now. Start discussing serious issues.”

@GeddyGedy reacted: “He is not a boy, he is a man who should have come out of his car and buy that guy a water tank, secure an empty space nearby and get a permit to open a car wash. But his brain just moved to the camera and twitter.”

@NickMidia stated: “If you knew the level of joblessness out here you wouldn’t comment like that. But in any case you have never known what being jobless is. Those brothers are just trying to earn a living.”