In Kenya, vehicle number plates are official identifiers issued by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to uniquely identify motor vehicles and link them to their owners.
They serve as a legal requirement for all road vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, and trailers, and convey specific information about the vehicle’s type, ownership, and purpose through their color, format, and codes.
This memorable and much-debated incident happened on March 15, 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta arrived at Harambee House in Nairobi to address the nation on the coronavirus situation announcing additional cases and tough measures to curb the spread including restrictions that would soon lead to curfews and economic lockdowns.
What caught everyone’s attention?
The front number plate on the vehicle in his convoy was mounted upside down. Instead of reading normally reported as something like KCW 980H, it appeared inverted (e.g., H086 MƆʞ). Notably, the rear plate was correctly oriented, and the car lacked the usual presidential flag and other ceremonial elements.
This sparked massive speculation and memes on social media. Many Kenyans interpreted it as a deliberate symbolic gesture — here’s what the popular theories were at the time:
1.It was a secret protocol or military sign indicating the head of state was delivering bad news to the nation some even compared it to an upside-down flag signaling distress.
2.It signaled the vehicle was traveling without the official presidential flag a supposed standard procedure to alert the public.
3.It symbolized the country or government being “upside down” or in crisis.
These ideas spread quickly, tying into the gravity of the early pandemic announcements.
Official sources, including government insiders speaking to outlets like Citizen TV and Nairobi News, clarified it was simply a human error a “sheer mistake” by the handlers or security team.
By YouthVillage