Raised in the dusty slopes of Embu, Dennis Njue Itumbi was a village sensation from the onset. His poems and public speeches dazzled many who saw him as a potential future regional leader.
It is Itumbi’s appreciation for literature, however, that would see him shoot to the national stage when he became a blogger.
Learning the ropes too fast, Itumbi would later be accused to have hacked the Internation Criminal Court’s (ICC) website to fidget with witness details.
At the time, President Uhuru and Deputy President Dr William Ruto were facing a high-octane trial after an ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo indicted them as the key perpetrators of the 2007 post-election violence.
After taking the reigns of power in 2013, President Kenyatta formed a now-defunct position of Director Digital, Innovation and Diaspora Communications where he placed Itumbi.
This was preceded by an all-out 2013 Presidential campaign where Itumbi fearlessly took on Uhu-Ruto detractors, often dissing and spinning stories with his popular hashtag #SystemYaFacts.
Itumbi would become so close to President Kenyatta, a situation which made him an instant power broker and to a larger extent a wheeler-dealer in the corridors of power.
Itumbi would grace most TV discussion panels often speaking a mixture of Government position on matters and his own opinions.
It is during these fora where Itumbi could take head-on seasoned opposition politicians and confuse them with a barrage of “facts”, emerging victorious in all the battles. But did he win the war?
The Fall
Fast forward to 2018, President Kenyatta had just won a contentious election against his arch-rival Raila Odinga who would go ahead and conduct a mock swearing-in ceremony as the People’s President.
The country remained polarized with constant political protests that threatened to ground business in Nairobi to a stand-still.
With Itumbi preaching an accept-and-move-on gospel, President Kenyatta would meet Odinga in a move that would turn political tables upside-down.
What followed is the disbandment of Itumbi’s position before being moved from State House to DP Ruto’s Harambee Annex office.
This was followed by a strained relationship between President Kenyatta’s former golden-boy who apparently failed to read his godfather’s face.
Arrested
In July, detectives drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) pounced on Itumbi at a popular city restaurant after linking him to a fake letter over an alleged attempt to assassinate DP Ruto.
This came after DCI summoned three Cabinet Secretaries to record a statement over the alleged assassination plot at La Mada hotel. The CSs termed the allegations as ‘wild and unsubstantiated.”
He was charged with the offence of making a false document contrary to Section 357 of the Penal code after FBI officers in the United States linked him with the forgery.
Itumbi was thrown behind bars for one week during his arrest before being released after the investigations are said to have squandered the time.
Chased from Bomas Dais
After officially decamping from President Kenyatta’s camp to join DP Ruto’s Dennis Itumbi was dragged through the mud after a Presidential guard unceremoniously ejected him from the VVIP dais.
The public humiliation depicted a man who had fallen out of favour with the Presidency and that his presence was becoming unhealthy.
While Itumbi would downplay his embarrassment as ‘just another day in office,’ it has now become evident his goose is cooked.