Kenya’s famous crime-fighting administrative chief Francis Kariuki known as the ‘tweeting chief’ died on Wednesday afternoon. The chief was an administrator to Nakuru’s Lanet Umoja location in Kenya. The area comprises a community with more than 30,000 residents.
Famous Crime-Fighting Chief Francis Kariuki
In 2014 the chief became famous for using social media, especially Twitter, to help fight crime and illicit brew. On Monday, the Lanet Chief fell ill and was first taken to Evans Sunrise Hospital in Nakuru on Tuesday.
Later on, the chief’s family was referred to the Nakuru Level Five Hospital for further treatment on Wednesday. The tech-savvy village chief of Lanet, however, passed on while receiving treatment at the Nakuru County Referral Hospital. Ken Kariuki, the chief’s son, confirmed on Wednesday the leader died of pneumonia.
Chief Francis Kariuki died at the age of 55 years. The chief’s daughter revealed that the administrator had been ailing from diabetes for a long time. She additionally said that this might have contributed to greater complications while receiving treatment.
Via Tweets and Text Messages
The chief joined Twitter back in 2011. He would actively use the platform to communicate with residents and the rest of the world. When chief Kariuki posted a tweet, several of his 60,000 followers would see the tweet.
There were residents, however, who did not have a Twitter account or internet connection. Such residents would subscribe to receive the chief’s tweets through a free text messaging service. Subscribers would get tweets in real-time via text without the need for a Twitter account or an internet connection. These subscribers were in the thousands at the time of the chief’s passing.
The chief could send tweets at any time of the day or night using his smartphone. Most tweets concerned lost animals, cases of insecurity in his area, and inspirational quotes. When a resident reported theft, the chief passed details of the robbery to his followers and subscribers. People helped track stolen property and get it back to the owners.
To residents in Lanet, Chief Kariuki offered a major service that even helped save lives. By the time of the leader’s death, his tweeting had significantly reduced the crime rate in Lanet Umoja. Additionally, he also used Twitter to encourage unemployed youth through messages of hope.
Early Life
In his early life, Chief Kariuki was born and raised in Nakuru. He attended Mereroni Primary School and later on joined Lanet Secondary School. Upon attaining his secondary school certificate, the famous chief joined the Kigari teachers training college.
In his career as an educator, the chief taught for 21 years as a teacher in different schools. Furthermore for four years, he was a deputy headteacher. Also, for six years, he was the headteacher at Lords School, Kambi Moto, in Rongai Sub-County.
In 2009 Mr. Francis Kariuki became Lanet Umoja’s first chief and left his career as an educator. In the year 2015, the chief graduated with a degree in Counseling Psychology from Mount Kenya University. He had been pursuing a degree through virtual learning.
After his death on Wednesday, the former teacher’s` body was moved to the Umash funeral for viewing, awaiting burial on Saturday.
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