This archive report was first published on 20 November 2019.
On November 19, 2019, Nairobi County Governor Mike Sonko took to Facebook to celebrate International Men's Day, sparking a heated debate among Kenyans.
According to Sonko, male children should be accorded due respect in society unconditionally. He wrote, 'Boychild must be accorded with respect he deserves na sio tafadhali. Men let's stop pretending this is the reality on the ground about us men of today's world.'
Sonko went on to list various roles that men play in society, including husbands, partners, fathers, and workers. He advised women to seek clarity from their men concerning their position in their lives and even provided the contacts of his private office to assist ladies in their quest for truth.
His post evoked mixed reactions, with some men applauding him and proposing that he takes over as men's official spokesperson. One user, Koech Kennedy, wrote, 'Congratulations Mike Sonko, with the undivided powers vested on me by all men! I without any hesitation appoints you to be the chairman and men's senior advisor effective from January 2020.'
However, not everyone agreed with Sonko's sentiments. Some netizens argued that men had to earn respect for them to be treated respectfully, while others wondered in which category deadbeat fathers were to be celebrated.
