Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya on Friday, March 21, 2025, decried what she termed negativity by a section of Kenyans on the royal visit of the King and Queen of the Netherlands to the country.
Speaking during a thanksgiving ceremony at the Chebisaas Girls’ Secondary School in Aldai, Nandi County, Tuya urged Kenyans to cease their online criticism of the country, noting that such sentiment could tarnish the already good reputation of the nation abroad.
“We need to jealously guard the peace, stability, and tranquility of our country. We must love our country more than anybody else loves Kenya out there,” Tuya said.
Negativity
“We have had a very successful visit of their majesties, the King and Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for the past week. Isn’t it beautiful to see our country visited by high-profile dignitaries?”
“But it is very disheartening that there was a very dedicated move to paint our country black before their majesties came into the country; Kenyans writing and telling the world how unsafe our country is and how bad our country is,” Tuya remarked.
She urged Kenyans to exercise patriotism, noting that several other countries in Africa are experiencing civil unrest, and Kenya must not go in that direction.
“What are we getting ourselves into? If we destroy our country with our own hands, where will we raise our children?” she quipped.
“Tuwe na uzalendo na tuipende nchi yetu. (We have to love our country and be patriotic.) The profile of Kenya is high out there, but when you come in, you hear negativity from ourselves. I don’t think it is proper. Even God does not like that. We must love our country and guard our security jealously because we know what is happening across our borders.
Online petition
In January 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that they had received reports that several Kenyans had sent numerous requests urging the Dutch royal family not to visit the country for various reasons.
However, the ministry marked the hundreds of emails as cyberattacks by a section of influencers in Kenya.
“These activities, initially sparked by genuine protests by Gen-Zs, have evolved into organized cyber-attacks by a few social media influencers and seek to delegitimize government initiatives, discourage high-level visits, and de-campaign Kenya’s candidates for international and regional positions while sending intimidatory messages to members of the international community,” the Ministry said on January 16, 2025.
The messages hit an all-time high when Kenyans online threatened to sign a petition for the Dutch royals to cancel their trip to the country altogether.
Nevertheless, King Willem and Queen Maxima arrived in Kenya and spent three days in the country before concluding their visit and traveling back on Friday, March 21, 2025.
