Trending phrases make us laugh and gets us all in on the joke and giving us a collective identity as a nation. Last year many phrases popped up, especially surrounding the general elections. But as tradition dictates, phrases come and go and 2023 is likely to bring up with new and more hilarious phrases.
Here are some of the phrases that trended in 2022.
1. Get over it
IEBC lawyer Mahat Somane quoted Justice Antonin Scalia while delivering his submissions at the Supreme Court of Kenya during the 2022 presidential election petition.
Mahat was responding to Azimio la Umoja’s issue of whether William Ruto, the then President-elect, attained 50% +1 vote of all the votes cast per Article 138 (4) of the Constitution.
And to that question, my Ladyship, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, wherever he went giving lectures all over the United States, everybody used to ask him about Bush, and he would know if someone is a Democrat or a Republican as to the question they would ask. His answer would be, ‘get over it; it’s over.’ To the petitioners’ answer as to that, I think the simple answer would be ‘get over it.’
That submission by Mahat gave Kenyans, particularly the supporters of Kenya Kwanza, a slogan to dismiss their rivals whenever they differed over the outcome of the August 9th elections. In the election, Ruto won with 50.49%. Raila Odinga came second with 48.8% of the votes cast.
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2. Freedom is coming
Freedom is coming was one of the most used slogans by the supporters of William Ruto before and during the August general election. They used the phrase to drum up support for the election of the Ruto-Gachagua duo, saying it would emancipate Kenyans from the ‘oppression of the handshake brothers.’
3. Shenzi sana
Shenzi sana, a Kiswahili phrase loosely translated to “idiot,” is COTU’s secretary general Francis Atwoli signature phrase, which he forcefully and humorously used to dismiss an opinion and opponents. Kenyans picked it up from the vocal COTU boss and gave it a lifeline beyond politics.
Andi Guyo from an MCA to Governor Francis Atwoli from a trade unionist to shenzi sana pic.twitter.com/8FaWorXXE9
— MatereAllan , HSC, MoP (@itsallamware) August 13, 2022
4. It is what it is- irriz wor irriz
To make sense and sound like it, the phrase ‘It is what it is’ is usually said with nasality– iriz wor irriz. The term usually comes to life when someone surrenders to destiny or circumstances and accepts fate or reality. It means that whatever has happened is done, and nothing can change it.
5. Inawezekana
Kiswahili word for it’s possible or a possibility, inawezekana, was one of the slogans the Azimio la Umoja coalition used in the last election campaign. The Azimio Team used it to drum up support for flagbearer Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua.
It was an uplifting term meant to give Kenyans hope for a bright future ahead. It also implied that realizing a just and economically healthy society was possible under the leadership of Odinga.
6. Hustler Nation
President William Ruto fashioned his campaign around the ordinary person, often associated with economic struggles. This, Ruto called hustler, saying he belonged to them because he struggled through life while growing up in Sugoi. Many people, the ordinary mwananchi, resonated with him and his ideas and promise to help the hustler nation grow and thrive.
7. State Capture
Rigathi Gachagua, Kenya’s Deputy President, is the person who gave this phrase momentum to vibrate across the country. During the presidential debate, Gachagua redefined the fight against corruption championed by Azimio as a witchhunt against the Kenya Kwanza team.
Gachagua said State Capture, where government officials were self-dealing, awarding themselves government contracts, and inflating the costs, was the issue plaguing Kenya, not corruption as defined by the Azimio. He blamed former president Uhuru Kenyatta for using the state resources to intimidate then Deputy President Ruto and his allies.
8. If you don’t get it, forget about it.
This phrase means dismissing those who fail to decipher a veiled message, such as an inside joke or any innuendo packed to hide it from public understanding.
For example, if one says a veiled message, such as a joke, and you ask for clarification, they might say, ‘if you don’t get it, forget about it.’
9. Mapema ndio best
It’s a hybrid of English and Kiswahili, to mean “starting early is the best way.” Millennials are specifically fond of using this phrase to justify their rush in life somewhat as they strive to meet their dreams.
For example, some say that they have to make it in life, whether by legal or illegal means, because they were not born to suffer, and mapema ndio best.
10. Pinky pinky ponky
This phrase came to the limelight during the hearing of the Presidential election Election petition.
Lawyer Willis Otieno, representing petitioner David Kariuki Ngari,
while giving his submissions at the Supreme Court of Kenya used the phrase to demonstrate how IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati messed up the election.
“What Chebukati did is what my niece, Mimi, calls ‘Pinky pinky ponky, Paka mielo disko!
“Chebukati calls both Ruto and Raila, and he was the only person who knows who the disco would land on. It fell on Ruto, and he said, voila, you are the president.
“Is that how we intend to choose our national executive? We have reduced it to Mimi’s Pinky Pinky Ponky Paka,” the lawyer said.
11. Itabidi uzoee
This is Swahili for “you’ll have to get used to it.” It’s used to steel-up people who have fallen into unfortunate circumstances. For example, if another man snatches your girlfriend, your friends will tell you, inauma, lakini itabidi uzoee tuu, meaning it is painful, but you have to get used to it. It is, however, not used in dire situations, like when one loses a loved one.
12. Murife don’t run/Murife
This phrase emerged around September. It was literally asking a person called Murife not to flee from something (bad).
In Kenyan street parlance, Murife run, which means the opposite of the original phrase, is used to warn people from walking blindly into trouble. It advises them to run away from the potential danger.
13. Hot air
Chief Justice Martha Koome, while reading the Supreme Court’s judgment of the presidential election petition, used the phrase to refer to the evidence and the whole petition, in general, to mean it lacked ground.
Kenyans, particularly those supporting the Azimio la Umoja faction, didn’t take the phrase and several invectives that the Court used kindly. They called out the Court for using coarse and insensitive language to dismiss the case, which, Kenyans argued, could have been denied more kindly.
Interestingly, Kenyans have since then referred to the Court as hot air, saying it is not independent and competent. In September 2022, the judiciary released a press statement on Twitter asking Kenyans to stop attacking the Court, particularly the SCOK.