This archive report was first published on 22 October 2019.
On Mashujaa Day, a question sparked debate: were Dennis Itumbi and Jacque Maribe deserving of their Head of State Commendation (HSC) awards in 2017?
Former Citizen TV news presenter Jacque Maribe jumped to her defense and that of her friend Dennis Itumbi, who received the award from President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017.
Maribe took to social media to assert that their naysayers have no idea how the presidential commendations are awarded, citing her own research.
She wrote, "My bestie @dennisitumbi is having a convo on K24 Punchline. Question is he and I among others got HSC awards. Problem is people don’t research how these awards are given. Riswa! Tunaelewa! Mungu mbele. Well done sweetie @dennisitumbi. I am, @jacquemaribe HSC."
During an interview on K24's Punchline show, Dennis Itumbi explained that he deserved the award partly for his push for free Wi-Fi connection around Nakuru town and introducing social media communication in all government ministries and agencies.
Itumbi said, "This (award) was my boss just saying ‘Dennis, well done. The issues (which led to my consideration for this award) were two. One was the attempt to connect Nakuru to free wifi and the second one was introducing a digital infrastructure for government and that was both human and physical."
