William Kabogo, the current Cabinet Minister for ICT, has become the latest X punching bag owing to what people believe is his incompatibility with the complex, new-age duties his office demands.

Kabogo, a 64-year old seasoned politician, was picked as the surprise head of the ICT ministry, and was sworn in on January 17 2025, taking over from Margaret Nyambura who had herself taken over from Eliud Owalo.

His appointment came as the ministry faced critical challenges, with the docket having seen three Cabinet Secretaries in less than two years.

During his vetting process at the National Assembly, the former Kiambu County boss emphasized his intent to introduce new laws and regulations to protect Kenyan workers in the digital economy. He expressed concern over the exploitation of local workers by global corporations operating outside Kenya’s employment laws.

“If approved, I will ensure that Kenyans working in the digital economy are safeguarded from exploitation. This will be achieved through a comprehensive legislative framework,” Kabogo said.

He also highlighted his qualifications for the role, citing his transformative leadership in Kiambu County as evidence of his capability.

“I believe this is a good job for me as ICT and Digital Economy Minister,” Kabogo stated. “While I was in Kiambu, I digitised the entire revenue collection system, which increased our annual revenues from $6.2M (Ksh. 800 million) to $20,8 (Ksh. 2.7 billion) in just 14 months. Additionally, I digitised the health systems, ensuring that doctors could seamlessly provide treatment across all our hospitals.”

Despite his own faith in himself, Kenyans are still finding it hard to trust Kabogo's expertise at the critical ministry, with many suggesting that his advanced age and background makes him unsuitable to navigate the intricate world of a highly digitalised ecosystem.

On X, where idle banter quickly catches fire before going viral, Kabogo is being mocked widely with people suggesting that he is helplessly unversed with matters to do with computer proficiency, advanced knowledge of programming and emerging technologies like AI.

They also claim that Kabogo lacks the specialized skills required by professionals in fields like IT, software development, and cybersecurity, even narrowing down to his drab sense of style, limited exposure to international politics and his overall political outlook.

The attacks were kicked off by government critic and former abductee Kibet Bull who, for the better part of Monday afternoon, sustained the salvos, eventually turning it into a running memefest.

While using a photo of a seemingly subdued Kabogo, who can be seen wearing a ridiculously short brown trouser, white shirt and red tie, many poked fun at the CS, throwing around computer jargon and juxtapositing it with what they believe Kabogo may confuse it for.

"Hio cache mtu anaweza withdraw?" someone, while attaching Kabogo's photo, asked.

"Baridi ikizidi washa hotspot!" someone else joked.

"Ati unasema Java gani? Naona ile ya Waiyaki Way iko sawa..." 

Admist all the laughs, and harmless ridicule, it appears the CS isn't too bothered with the memes being churned out at his expense.

Replying to one such meme, Kabogo stated that he was enjoying the banter, appearing to take it all in his stride.

"I’m enjoying it, if no one makes such, you need to be very worried," he wrote on X.

"Ati hio website iko na cookies? Si uitishe chai basi..."