If you are a student in any Kenyan University, you probably have heard of a popular political activist who goes by the name Ndege Sirkal. He has been a long term SONU political wheeler-dealer. Being an alumnus of Kanga High school, Fredrick Ndege scored a clean A in the KCSE with a whopping 87.56452 points. Due to his exemplary and excellent performance, he secured a scholarship at Strathmore University. However, being a die-hard activist Sirkal caused unrest and tension thoroughly in his first week at Strathmore. He commanded a cult-like following in the university. This craze ticked the administration of the school which then led to Sirkal’s suspension from the school for fear of unknown. Ndege then joined the University of Nairobi. He rose to popularity during campus political seasons campaigning for Babu Owino; he commanded a massive following to an extent that student politicians look up to him for direction in the field. Currently, Ndege is an active participant in student elections, commentating on the happenings and advising where necessary.
Ndege has influenced the victory of three University of Nairobi student leadership; DMK Kiogora, Kinuthia, and finally the ultimate one where Ndege made history by mercilessly campaigning for controversial former SONU Chairman, Babu Owino. However, where good is, evil lurks too. Ndege has his flaws as he is human. On the account of one Bigwig Mustafa, we received a list of reasons on why a section of comrades believe that Ndege is not rightfully placed is comrade politics, and this is why;
To begin with, Mustafa believes that Ndege is an enemy of free speech. Having graduated in 2010, comrades expect Ndege to contribute to national politics, not campus politics. Mustafa argues about how Ndege is still clinging on to petty campus politics and getting irked by everything said by the comrades including anything in contribution to the alleged relationship Ndege has with WOSWA chairperson Marie Ann. Ndege applies zero tolerance policy to his critics, or rather anybody with views different from his. Any ‘negativity’ is met with a block on the famous Ndege-controlled Facebook Group; “New Comrades Forum.” Critics tread carefully, as they have no place or voice on the Group, considering Ndege deletes anything that is said contrary to what he believes. When we asked Ndege about these allegations he explained his grounds for blocking comrades on the New Comrade Platform were comrades posting irrelevant content like vernacular porn, nude male photos, betting tips and odds, business marketing like AIM Global, constant spelling mistakes, posting about weight loss, weight gain, erection solutions, making posts that praise enemies and oppressors of comrades i.e police, HELB CEO, VCs, limping prostitutes and posts bordering on hate speech. All these cause one to be blocked from the noble group. Therefore, to be a life member of the platform, one is expected to maintain decency by observing the group rules.
Campus political seasons present an opportunity for Ndege to keep censoring what is said on the forum, as the propaganda that comes with politics can be destructional. Mustafa goes on to accuse Ndege of snatching his less preferred leaders the freedom to express their views and lay out their vision to the comrades. As mentioned earlier, for Ndege, an opinion is only right if he endorses it. This can be explained by the recently concluded UNSA election where Ndege only posted media praising Ayoma Samuel while diminishing the other opponents. Only posts critical to the opponents were left up, with others getting deleted before comrades could contribute to them. According to Mustafa, Ann Mvurya had the ground with everyone talking about her but with no virtual presence, courtesy of Ndege.
Ndege intends to vie for Lang’ata Member of Parliament come 2022. He will possibly be running alongside media personality Jalang’o and the incumbent Hon Generali Nixon Korir among others. Mustafa thinks that Nixon will win, undoubtedly.
Mustafa winds up lamenting on Ndege’s ego, insisting that for Ndege to be the leader he believes he is, then he should tame his ego. Ndege expects to be bootlicked from dawn to dusk, the infuriated Mufasa continues his summary. He boasts of being a Mr Know it All. Mustafa believes that he needs to be democratic. Today he is blocking intellectual comrades from his forum, can he be entrusted to be an area MP? If he gets power, what will he do to his critics?
We reached out to Ndege Sirkal for comments on Mustafa’s thoughts. Ndege assured us that he does not pay attention to fake accounts managed by people who are scared to reveal their identity.
