Dennis Itumbi: The Government Blogger

In 2005, Dennis Itumbi had the strong smell of unfulfilled expectations. He, together with his longtime friend Denis Onsarigo, were kicked out by their landlord due to a Sh3,500 rent at the Mukuru slums.

They were on what seemed like a long journey through the boulevard of broken dreams but they knew their then status was just but a passing cloud.

He now looks back with a smile. He is twice the man he was back then and that life not long ago helps him enjoy his current life where he walks freely at State House and is on first-name terms with Kenya’s Chief Executive.

The house on the hill is now his office; he can have a chat with President Uhuru Kenyatta on the corridors, he can help guide guests through the safest house in the country. Heck, he even has security now. Mukuru slums seems like a lifetime ago. How did he get here?

“My eyes were fixed on the price,” he says. “I ignored cheering and jeerings, I didn’t want to be swayed out of track just like a flowing river that overcomes every obstacle to reach a wider mass, I am now in a position to reach many Kenyans and help them.”

The former blogger, who has probably made more enemies than friends, is the Director Digital, New Media and Diaspora in the Executive Office of The President. Quite a title for a man who many believe should be in jail rather than State House.

He is a prominent man in Kenyatta’s government and while many have different opinions about whether he is qualified for the office or not, he has bigger fish to fry.

Facebook and Twitter comments are the least of his worries, not when he has to listen to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga criticise him saying he is a neophyte in Diaspora issues.

“My office falls under Manoah Esipisu who has been appointed and brought back from the Diaspora, so if the issue is living in the Diaspora then that matter is sorted, the rest is strategy,” he responded to Raila Odinga on his Facebook page.

For a man who many believe was an online assassin for Uhuru Kenyatta during the campaigns and was once arrested after he was accused of hacking into the ICC system, Itumbi now has to guard what he posts online, a complete U-turn from just a few months ago.

He left his lucrative job at the Voice of America where he was the East Africa correspondent and ventured into a totally new field, not only for him but for Kenya. He started to blog.

He also joined a few who were privy to social media. That was in 2011. His journey has seen him overcome tides to become an important artery in the Jubilee government.

Prior to the March 4 General Election, he was an avid social media user and would occasionally update his many blogs, many praising then candidate Uhuru whom he supported.

His following was surging and he at times became a news channel for many. He could get first hand scoops before everybody else.

He would use his social media platforms to sell his manifestos and to popularise a man who would later assume occupancy at State House. He would vigorously support him even when the public was roaring and hot on his heels. Eventually, his sweat and loyalty paid off.

He briefs the President on a daily basis and his schedule is tighter than ever before. This past week, for instance, he has attended more meetings than he has cumulatively attended in his entire life.

He says his sleeping hours have been slashed to only three due to the nature of his work. “Communicating with the diaspora means I have to remain awake at night when it is daytime there,” he says.

Itumbi says he approached the Uhuru campaign and offered to campaign for him online and they said yes. Together with 15 other individuals, he started an online campaign for Uhuru and helped set up their online strategy.

“Contrary to the propaganda we were told, Uhuru’s campaign was purely run by a dedicated team of Kenyans. The only non-Kenyan in the Uhuru camp is those representing him in the ICC cases for obvious reasons,” he says.

When Deputy President William Ruto joined hands with Uhuru, the term “digital” was tossed as a campaign slogan and it stuck. Now it was Itumbi and his team who were tasked with making that slogan read true.

The President and his Deputy have a heavy online presence and Uhuru Kenyatta’s Facebook page is one of the most popular, boasting 576,802 Likes. A clearly “digital President”.

“Working in government is a difficult job, you have to regulate your social life but I am up to the task,” he says.

Recently, government websites, including that of the NIS, were hacked -- a rather tough welcome for Itumbi. He had to recover everything and ensure nothing was leaked.

So, what is he up to in his new office? Itumbi says he has laid down big plans. He wants to spearhead a complete overhaul of the Government websites into one.

“From the main website, one can access ministries and departments, it will be far much easier for someone to trace a certain ministry,” he says. “An internal performance tracking system dubbed “cabinex” is already accessible by the President and he is able to know what is happening in every Ministry from State House or whenever he is,” he adds.

Itumbi says he has also set up a diaspora virtual office; “The office will be a front office for diaspora issues and investment.”

For the first time, Kenyans will be interacting with the President directly. According to Itumbi, plans to create a portal of chatting with the President using video, audio and text have been completed and the site president.go.ke is currently undergoing testing before being launched. “Once that is done, Kenyans will be chatting with their President occasionally. We want to ensure everything is digital.”

“When the national digital conference is held, Kenyans will be expected to give innovative ideas that will help transform the nation,” he says.

The first-born in a family of five boys, Itumbi promises to deliver and ensure the country is digitised. Itumbi, from Embu County, says he’ll create platforms for job creation for the youth.

He describes President Uhuru as someone who doesn’t like calling the shots. “He lets everybody do his\her part, he only gets the briefs, that is how great he is. Can you fail to deliver in such an environment? I bet not,” he concludes.