By Emmanuel Onyango
Kenyan officials say ‘’cyber attacks’’ organised by social media influencers are behind an online campaign to stop a planned state visit by Dutch royals, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima.
The hashtag #CancelTheVisit has been trending in Kenya demanding that the Dutch royals cancel the state visit. Protest emails have also been sent to the Dutch government's ministry of foreign affairs, with screenshots shared widely on social media.
The Dutch government has confirmed it received at least three hundred e-mails from people protesting against the king and queen’s visit to Kenya, Dutch public broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting reports.
The Royal House of Netherlands hopes the trip will be a “reaffirmation of the good relations and solid cooperation” between the two countries.
Street protests
In Kenya, the government has been under intense pressure since June 2024, when street protests erupted with the largely young protesters asking the authorities to reduce tax burden on citizens and improve governance.
There have also been cases of disappearance of government critics, with the state-funded rights group saying some 82 such cases had been recorded in the last six months.
Kenyan Public Service Minister Justin Muturi, whose son was among those abducted in June, said recently that the government's silence on the abductions had eroded public confidence in security forces.
“Kidnappings and abductions in Kenya have become a security concern in the recent past and the victims are not only men but also women and children, including foreign nationals,” President Ruto admitted in his State of the Nation address last November.
Public skepticism
However, the government’s attempts to quell public anger, including promises to investigate cases of forced disappearances, have been met by skepticism. Critics on social media have particularly targeted the government’s engagements with Western countries.
On its part, Kenya’s foreign ministry says it is concerned by the spread of "misinformation and information aimed at undermining the credibility of the government" before the international community.
It said "a few social media influencers" were seeking to "delegitimise government initiatives and discourage high-level visits" as well as sending what it called intimidating messages to foreign capitals.
"These cyber activities, majority of which are AI- generated deepfakes, fabricated narratives, widespread misinformation campaign and coordinated auto-generated emails, are unfortunately being sent to foreign capitals,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
Kenya assured "all diplomatic missions, UN agencies and international organisations of its willingness to discuss any concerns or clarifications and remains open to addressing these shared risks".
The authorities said the visit by the Dutch monarch will focus on mutual interests between the two countries.
"There will be meetings with people from across Kenyan society, from farmers to young entrepreneurs and from civil society organisations to the business sector," Isaac Mwaura, the government spokesperson, tells TRT Afrika.
European monarchs
The visit by the Dutch royals, scheduled for March 18 to March 20, will be the second time that President Ruto is hosting a European monarch.
British King Charles and his wife Camilla visited the East African country in October 2023. That visit was equally criticised by Kenyans and Pan-Africanists because of UK’s brutal colonial role in the country.
The scars of the suppression of the Mau Mau uprising by British troops in the 1950’s ahead of independence are still fresh. Some members of the resistance movement have moved to the European Court of Human Rights to demand approximately $2.2 trillion in reparations from Britain for the atrocities they endured.
Parallels have been drawn between controversies surrounding the planned visit of the Dutch royals to that of King Charles’ tour.
King Charles acknowledged the "abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans" in the struggle for independence but failed to deliver a formal apology as demanded by campaigners.
Colonial wrongdoings
Although the Netherlands has no direct history of colonising Kenya, the Dutch royals might use the visit, if it eventually happens, as an opportunity to discuss difficult topics relating to Western countries’ wrongdoings in Africa.
“The royals could honour the invitation, but amongst the slate of issues that they are to discuss, the state of governance in Kenya could be an issue of interest that could be included for discussion,” Javas Bigambo, a Kenyan scholar and expert in international affairs, tells TRT Afrika.
“I don’t think it will have an impact on whether he comes or not. It all depends on the reason he is coming. If the reason is that important, then he will ignore them,” Macharia Munene, a Kenya-based professor of international relations, tells TRT Afrika.
Although some analysts take a dim view on the potential of public sentiment on social media to stop the Dutch royals from making the visit, they say such public disapproval sends a strong message.
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