In the days leading up to, and particularly on the eve of, the highly anticipated June 25 protests, a chilling new wave has swept across TikTok.
Young Kenyans are now crafting and posting mock funeral programmes of themselves—complete with their names, birth dates, staged death dates, and passport-style portraits, all set to haunting burial hymns.
At the centre of the trend is David Wachira, one of several youths who have designed their own eulogies in advance, sharing digital funeral cards as if preparing to be mourned before ever stepping foot into the protest arena.
The self-made programmes are strikingly realistic, featuring sombre black backgrounds, white borders, and captions such as “Sunrise: May 12, 2002 – Sunset: June 25, 2025,” with melancholic funeral songs like “Jerusalema” or “I Was Here” playing softly in the background.
The trend, though laced with gallows humour, has taken on a tone far more sobering than satire, with each post resembling a premature farewell.
With that, let us take a closer look at some of the daring young Kenyans who did not shy away from hopping atop the trend:
1. David Wachira
Arguably the most viral so far, David Wachira — who goes by the TikTok username @jnationist — was likely the first to take a brave plunge into the trend as he stunned his followers with a strikingly designed first page of his funeral programme.
The 25-year-old man shared a clean, well-polished digital eulogy that included the detail that he was born in April 2001 and had died on June 25, 2025, the symbolic date of the protests.
He added signature phrases like ‘In Loving Memory of David Wachira’, which is always the hallmark of such tributes, and his fans could not help but flood his page with raw reactions and amused disbelief.
The digital booklet also featured a clean-cut portrait of himself in the middle and a final note at the bottom bearing a biblical quote, urging people to pursue justice.
2. Monicah Wambui
Another rising voice in the trend is Monicah Wambui, who used one of her most admired TikTok selfies as the focal point of her eulogy.
She kept her layout modest, writing ‘In Loving Memory of’ above the image and placing the photo at the centre of a calm template. Beneath the portrait, she disclosed her birth date as June 23 and, like Wachira, marked her death as June 25 — maintaining the satirical timeline.
In the caption, she offered herself a moving tribute, saying she had lived a beautiful and meaningful life and that those gathered in her honour were not mourning but celebrating the vibrance she carried through her days.
“Today we gather not to mourn but to celebrate the life of an extraordinary young woman, Monicah, who had a vibrant spirit,” she wrote — her own voice echoing like a digital candle in the wind.
3. Imanuel
Another Gen Z user by the handle @imanuel_98 refused to be left behind in the trend, which has become a strange yet moving exercise in digital gallows humour.
He impressed his followers with a thoughtfully curated eulogy that included the Kenyan flag and delicate flower patterns hugging the edges of his portrait.
He revealed his dates of symbolic birth and ‘sunset’ and wrote a tribute that sounded like a soft whisper to the world, reminding those left behind that not every goodbye is the end of a story.
“Not all farewells are the end. Some remain in memories, smiles, and stories we always carry in our hearts. Sunrise: April 23, 2001 – Sunset: June 25, 2025,” he wrote — a line that lingered like a prayer in the minds of many.
4. Bilfon John
Elsewhere, another Gen Z known as Bilfon John also entered the trend with a self-authored eulogy where he declared he was born in 2002 and jokingly stated he had ‘died’ in June 2025.
He used the Bible verse Isaiah 1:17 — ‘Learn to do right; seek justice. ‘Defend the oppressed,’ which has become a recurring verse among others riding this wave, signalling a deeper cry behind the humour.
He paired his tribute with a polished photo from a professional shoot, and fans swarmed his comments section with admiration and emojis reflecting both satire and solidarity.
5. Xonic KE
Another contributor to the trend was TikTok user @xonic_ke, who posted a refined and well-decorated eulogy template.
His layout featured soft floral corner designs and a light crème hue across the background, where his portrait, name, and symbolic life dates were beautifully set.
He shared that he was born in 1997 and, in line with the trend’s mock-mortality, indicated that he had died on June 25, 2025 — the day of the planned protests.
He closed his tribute with a familiar farewell line that read, “You will be missed. Forever in our hearts,” offering a symbolic wave from the digital afterlife.
6: Victor Kipng’eno
Another one is Victor Kipng’eno, who goes by the username @mtaaofficiel.
Victor designed a black-and-white eulogy that, although minimal in colour, was rich in detail, boldly featuring the slogan ‘Ruto Must Go’ as part of its symbolic messaging.
He revealed that he was born in September 2000 and that he had gone to rest with his maker on June 25, 2025.
He echoed the same biblical verse from Isaiah 1:17 and shared the eulogy alongside a solemn mourning hymn that deepened its emotional weight.
