Between June 19th and 23rd, 2026, a cluster of social-media narratives circulated on X (formerly Twitter) with the hashtag #SabbathOfWitches, claiming former Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is secretly a Freemason being elevated to the 33rd degree and will be installed as Grand Master on July 31, 2026, to replace the late lawyer Pheroze Nowrojee. The narratives further claimed Gachagua’s UK trip was to secure approval from the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), and his 45-day stay at his Wamunyoro home was “intense seclusion and spiritual preparation” involving Masonic ritual. The social media narratives were linked to real school fire tragedies like Endarasha in September 2024:21 Deaths and Utumishi Girls May 2026: 16 deaths.
Screengrab of #SabbathOfWitches campaigns on X
Piga Firimbi analyzed the accounts and posts on X that drove the hashtag and discovered that 95.8% of all Hit Sentences contained a fixed template of “#SabbathOfWitches Church Goons Devil Worship School Fires.” This identical campaign appendage appeared two days after the Wamunyoro conclave began on June 17th, strongly indicating it was inserted automatically. The #SabbathOfWitches campaign had the telltale signs consistent with a coordinated amplification campaign, rather than organic public belief.
Background: Why Gachagua, and Why now?
Rigathi Gachagua is the first Deputy President in Kenya to be removed from office under the 2010 Constitution. On October 8, 2024, the lower house voted 281–44 in favour of his impeachment. On October 17, 2024 the Senate formally upheld the impeachment, finding him guilty on five of the eleven charges brought against him, including allegations of corruption, insubordination, and ethnically divisive politics. He denied all the 11 charges . Born on February 28, 1965, Rigathi was the second person to serve as Kenya’s Deputy President under the 2010 Constitution.
Since Gachagua’s impeachment in October 2024 he has led the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) and positioned himself as a leading opposition figure, courting Former President Uhuru Kenyatta chairperson and patron of the Azimio Coalition ,Kalonzo Musyoka, Azimio’s Party leader, Eugene Ludovic Wamalwa of the Democratic Action Party–Kenya (DAP-K), and Fred Okengo Matiang’i of the Jubilee Party and others toward a “United Alternative Government” for 2027. His movements from the US trip (2025), the UK trip (May 2026), the Wamunyoro conclave, and the Ol Kalou by-election are all heavily reported and openly political. Fact-checkers from Africa Check and Piga Firimbi have repeatedly debunked viral misinformation about Gachagua.
Freemasonry in Kenya exists as a private fraternal organization that serves as a spiritual and administrative hub for local Freemasonry members, whose meetings often revolve around moral philosophy, community service, and symbolic rituals. In May 2026, Nairobi County officials, led by Health CEC Susan Silantoi, clamped down on the historic Freemasons’ Hall in the city center after the Grand Lodge of East Africa failed to settle land rates amounting to KSh 19 million. The raid was part of an ongoing countywide operation targeting defaulters, as Nairobi’s revenue department intensifies efforts to collect about KSh 10 billion in the next two months.
The hashtag #SabbathofWitches deliberately evokes religious horror, as “sabbath of witches” references the European concept of a satanic gathering. This framing is designed to bypass rational evaluation and trigger an emotional, faith-based rejection of Gachagua. The campaign exploits Kenya’s genuine public anxieties about school fires and religious extremism by weaving them into a conspiracy narrative. Allegations linking politicians to the occult have a long history since July 1995 in Kenyan public discourse, where Freemasonry and “devil worship” carry intense social stigma in a predominantly Christian society.
The current Freemasonry package fits this established pattern precisely: it exploits long-standing Kenyan occult panic (the 1994 devil-worship commission, the historical Mungiki attempt to burn the Freemasons’ Hall) and grafts it onto a real political event.
Narrative Themes.
The narrative’s structure combines an incoherent Masonic claim with a real date repurposed to fit the conspiracy, real people whose identities and images are recycled, and a genuine tragedy hijacked to give the story emotional weight. It is then engineered for maximum shareability and false credibility.
As evidenced in the social media narrative themes below the #SabbathofWitches campaign appears to use fabricated / selectively picked photographs sourced online, alongside invented quotations and references to seemingly legitimate media outlets such as Citizen TV, Citizen Digital, and Daily Nation. By inserting the names of recognisable news organisations and presenting fake quotes or screenshots as if they were genuine reporting, the creators attempt to make the false narrative appear authentic and independently verified.
Below is the Flourish chart showing the narrative themes and the corresponding number of posts
1.1 Sub-Narrative Prevalence
# |
Sub-Narrative |
Posts |
% of Dataset |
Coordination |
1 |
Template Tail (Church Goons/Devil Worship/School Fires) |
4,791 |
95.8% |
Extremely High |
2 |
Gachagua-Freemasonry Core Claims |
3,371 |
67.4% |
High |
3 |
Ambrose Rachier Invitation |
1,487 |
29.7% |
High |
4 |
Wamunyoro Seclusion as Masonic Preparation |
1,325 |
26.5% |
High |
5 |
UK Visit / UGLE Approval |
1,248 |
25.0% |
High |
6 |
School Fires Linked to Freemasonry |
947 |
18.9% |
High |
7 |
Pheroze Nowrojee Succession |
790 |
15.8% |
High |
8 |
Oscar Sudi Claims |
146 |
2.9% |
Moderate |
9 |
GEMA Leadership / Mwangi wa Iria |
156 |
3.1% |
Moderate |
10 |
Hiram Abiff Ritual Details |
56 |
1.1% |
High |
Theme 1: The Wamunyoro “Conclave”
The Wamunyoro “conclave” refers to Gachagua’s 45-day political consultation drive, with absence from public rallies to his Nyeri home from June 16th to July 31, 2026. In this campaign the 45- day “intense seclusion and spiritual preparation” is connected to a Masonic ritual (the Hiram Abiff legend). The story of “Hiram, the widow’s son,” forms the basis of the ritual drama associated with the third degree of Freemasonry, known as the Master Mason degree. The coincidence between the 45-day retreat and elements of the Hiram Abiff story was then used to suggest a hidden connection between Gachagua’s political consultations and Freemasonry.
Rigathi at his Wamunyoro home has documented visitors and interlocutors like Safina leader Jimi Wanjigi (July 1), Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, Peter Munya and not Masons in ritual. He also received grassroots delegations, e.g., from Nyandarua County on June 16. Political analysts also situate Wamunyoro within a normal Kenyan political tradition of leaders using rural homes as power bases, from examples like Kenyatta’s Gatundu, Moi’s Kabarak, and Odinga’s Bondo, describing it as a “theatre of loyalty and resistance,” not a temple.
There is no credible report in any outlet linking Gachagua to Freemasonry; the only prior “Freemasonry-Gachagua” story was a fabricated press statement about a property transfer that The Kenya Times debunked.
Theme 2: The July 31 Date and the “Installation” Hook
This narrative claims July 31, 2026 is Gachagua’s Masonic “installation as Grand Master.” Disinformation campaigns gain traction when it attaches to a real date. July 31st already has a documented, benign meaning: it is the scheduled end of Gachagua’s 45-day conclave, after which he plans to compile his consultation findings into a report for former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
A dedicated search for “July 31 Grand Master Freemasonry Kenya Gachagua” surfaced only two real July-31 associations: the end of Gachagua’s conclave, and — entirely coincidentally — the July 31, 1946 birth date of Opkar Singh Sandhu, a Kenya-born Sikh-Canadian who became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Quebec.
Theme 3: The UK Trip — Wrong Month, Wrong Purpose
This narrative asserts a “recent” UK visit to secure United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) approval. UGLE refers to the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of Freemasons in England, Wales, and some Commonwealth of Nations. However, verifiable records contradict this on both timing and purpose. Gachagua’s UK trip occurred in May 2026, not July. He arrived at Heathrow on May 16, 2026, having planned a month-long tour and cut it to roughly a week, concluding around May 24.
Gachagua’s UK trip was entirely political and financial. He went to launch a DCP UK chapter, engage the diaspora, gather policy views, and raise funds, reportedly targeting about Ksh 1 billion toward a Ksh 2 billion nomination budget. He traveled with his spouse, Reverend Dorcas, and allies in the advance team included EALA MP Kanini Kega, Senator John Methu, and musician Samidoh. He held engagements in London, Swindon and Peterborough. He publicly explained the early return as “civic responsibility” amid rising Kenyan fuel and transport costs. He framed it explicitly as a “crisis mitigation” and consensus-building exercise, shifting from public rallies to structured negotiations.
A Google search confirms Gachagua did not travel to the UK in July 2026. During that period he was focused on the Ol Kalou by-election. There is no credible report that Gachagua sought or received anything from UGLE. UGLE’s own structure confirms this claim is misconceived: UGLE governs Craft Freemasonry through the District Grand Lodge of East Africa (Freemasons’ Hall, Nyerere Road, Nairobi) and has no mechanism resembling “approving” a foreign politician’s elevation to a “33rd degree Grand Master”
Theme 4: The Freemasonry Claims Themselves — Structurally Incoherent
Setting aside the absence of evidence linking Gachagua to Masonry, the specific claims contradict how Freemasonry is actually organized. This is one of the strongest tells of fabrication.
| Concept in the Claim | What Primary Masonic Sources Actually Say |
| 33rd degree | An honorary degree of the Ancient and Accepted (Scottish) Rite; ~1.5% of members hold it; requires being a Mason and prior K.C.C.H. service; conferred only by a Supreme Council, never on request. |
| Grand Master | The elected head of a sovereign Grand Lodge; there is no single worldwide Grand Master. https://massfreemasonry.org/grand-lodge/the-grand-master/ |
| 33rd degree Grand Master | Conflates two separate systems — the honorary Scottish Rite degree and the Craft office of Grand Master. |
| UGLE approval | UGLE’s Craft structure has only three degrees plus the Royal Arch; the 33rd degree belongs to a separate body (Supreme Council ) which UGLE does not control. |
UGLE’s own materials state that “Pure Ancient Masonry” comprises exactly three degrees (Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, Master Mason), completed by the Royal Arch; the 33rd degree is explicitly not part of UGLE Craft Freemasonry and belongs to the independently governed Ancient and Accepted Rite headquartered in London. The Scottish Rite’s own authority describes the 33rd degree (“Inspector General Honorary”) as a selective honor for distinguished service, not a rank of political power and not a “Grand Master” position.
The UGLE’s forgery appears to have exploited a real May 2025 Nairobi City County enforcement action against the Freemasons’ Hall over land rates, during which the Grand Lodge of Scotland’s Grand Master, William Ramsay McGhee, publicly described Freemasonry as a fraternal, not occult, organization.
Theme 5: The Recycled Real People — Rachier and Nowrojee
The narrative gains an appearance of credibility by invoking names of two prominent Kenyans, Rachier and Nowrojee. However, neither of these purported connections withstands closer scrutiny.
Ambrose Rachier genuinely is a self-declared Freemason. In an NTV interview, the Gor Mahia chairman and lawyer disclosed membership since 1994, seeking to demystify the society and rebut “devil worship” myths. He explained that membership is by invitation and vetting, that the craft has ranked up to the 33rd degree, and that its focus is charity. Notably, he described himself as having attained the 30th degree, not the 33rd. His disclosure prompted his law partner, Otiende Amollo, to publicly distance their firm and deny personal membership, and Gor Mahia’s leadership to distance the club.
Critically, nothing in Rachier’s documented statements references Gachagua or any 2026 ceremony. His remarks are four years old and about himself. The claim that he “formally invited fellow Freemasons” for a Gachagua ceremony has no evidentiary support in the research. The East African’s records, moreover, associate the historical office of District Grand Master of East Africa with Sir Andy Chande (1986–2005), not Rachier.
Pheroze Nowrojee was a Senior Counsel and celebrated constitutional lawyer. The “People’s Attorney” died in the United States on April 5, 2025, aged 84. He was honored across the political spectrum (Ruto, Koome, Odinga) for his human-rights work and his role in the 2017 election petition.
A dedicated search found no evidence whatsoever connecting him to any Masonic Grand Master office; indeed, since Freemasonry has no single global “Grand Master” and such offices are matters of internal public record, the absence of any such record for Nowrojee is dispositive. The claim that Gachagua would “replace” Nowrojee as Grand Master is thus FALSE and invents a Masonic role the deceased never held.
The online discourse misuses Nowrojee’s death and the associated grief to create a conspiratorial link between his passing and the alleged secretive rituals, framing the incident as if there is hidden “evidence” to be uncovered. This is a calculated attempt to elevate the story’s emotional weight and add a layer of sinister intrigue to the falsehood.
Theme 6: School Fires — A Real Tragedy Hijacked
This narrative links Masonic/occult activity and Gachagua to school fires. The documented investigations point exclusively to arson and systemic safety failures, with no occult or political dimension.
The central incident is the Utumishi Girls Academy fire in Gilgil, Nakuru County, in the early hours of May 28, 2026, which killed 16 students and injured 79. The dormitory (Meline Waithera) housed over 200 students with 135 bunk beds and locked emergency exits. The DCI used forensic CCTV analysis to identify students; by June 24, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) had approved murder charges, and students were charged with 16 counts on July 1, 2026. The Education CS, Julius Ogamba, confirmed arson, dissolved the school board, and initiated disciplinary action against the principal and two teachers who reportedly ignored warnings of planned unrest.
This was part of a broader crisis: the Kenya Red Cross recorded 37 school fire incidents between January and early June 2026, and at least 71 boarding institutions were closed. On June 14, 2026, the government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura announced students implicated in arson would carry permanent records on their Certificates of Good Conduct. Investigations consistently attribute fires to overcrowding, locked exits, lack of firefighting equipment, and student unrest over food, discipline, and conditions.
On the occult angle: research explicitly found no official finding or credible report linking the 2026 fires to devil worship or the occult. The “devil worship in schools” trope is a historical artifact, the 1994 Moi-era commission (chaired by Archbishop Nicodemus Kirima, report surfacing 1999) that is now widely regarded as overtaken by time and in conflict with the 2010 Constitution’s religious-freedom protections. There is no evidence connecting the fires to Gachagua or to any Masonic activity.
Theme 7: Mwangi wa Iria — Real Critic, Wrong Framing
The narrative claims former Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria rejected Gachagua “on religious grounds” while claiming GEMA leadership. Wa Iria is a genuine and vocal Gachagua critic, but the documented basis is political, not religious.
Wa Iria has publicly called on Gachagua to resign rather than oppose the government from within, mocked the “Itungati” movement, and accused Gachagua of pursuing “selfish reasons” in steering Mt Kenya toward the opposition. In December 2024, Ruto appointed Mwangi wa Iria chair of the Public Procurement Regulatory Board, read by analysts as part of consolidating Central Kenya support after Gachagua’s impeachment.
Importantly, the research finds no verified statement by wa Iria rejecting Gachagua on religious grounds or over Freemasonry. Where religious objections to Gachagua exist, they came from other actors and concerned different issues e.g., Mombasa’s SUPKEM and Pwani Patriotic Religious Leaders condemned Gachagua’s “worse than 2007” violence remarks as inflammatory. Meanwhile, various GEMA elders and religious leaders actually defended Gachagua during his impeachment, calling attacks on him “unwarranted”. Research explicitly concludes there is no credible record of religious leaders objecting to Gachagua over Masonic affiliation.
The Narrative Propagation Network
These 7 narratives overlapped as shown in the bipartite network below. The bipartite network shows accounts (blue, outer ring) connected to the narrative themes they propagate (red, center). The dense interconnections demonstrate that most accounts spread multiple narratives simultaneously, consistent with a coordinated campaign using pre-written content templates rather than organic, focused discussion.
Coordination Vs Discourse.
This campaign leveraged a highly automated approach with 5.99k mentions and 35 M total reach. Under the hashtag #SabbathOfWitches, 285 out of 437 accounts (65.2%) posted exclusively on June 19 and showed no activity before or after. These accounts generated the vast majority of the campaign’s volume: 4,192 posts (83.8%). Combined with bot-like posting velocity, this indicates disposable amplification accounts activated for a single coordinated push.
The campaign’s objective as shown in the flourish chart below was purely to force hashtags onto trending lists and flood search feeds . The vast majority of posts were reposts, followed by replies, with only minimal unique authors
1. The June 19 Anomaly
A granular breakdown of June 19 reveals extreme temporal concentration: 3,524 posts (70.5% of the entire dataset) occurred within a narrow two-hour window between 09:00 and 11:00 EAT. Volume peaked during the 10:00 AM hour alone, which recorded 3,092 posts. At its highest velocity, activity condensed into a 10-minute window from 10:24 to 10:34 EAT that generated 1,259 posts, hitting a single-minute peak of 212 posts at 10:29 AM EAT.
The temporal distribution of posts reveals two distinct activity spikes between June 19 and June 23. On June 19, activity reached its primary peak at 3,711 posts, heavily driven by engagement, with 83.5% consisting of reposts and replies. This was followed by a steep drop to 25 posts on June 20 and near-zero activity (3 posts) on June 21. A secondary spike occurred on June 22 (11:00-14:00) with 1,207 posts, which differed structurally from the first peak by featuring predominantly organic content (97% original posts). Activity then rapidly waned, returning to a declining tail of 19 posts on June 23. Engagement followed the same burst pattern, confirming automated deployment.
Single-day Burst Patterns
| Time Window | Posts | Rate | Assessment |
| Jun 19, 09:00–10:00 EAT | 432 | 7.2/min | High but plausible |
| Jun 19, 10:00–11:00 EAT | 3,092 | 51.5/min | ⚠️ Strongly indicates automation |
| Jun 19, 11:00–12:00 EAT | 61 | 1.0/min | Sharp drop — campaign completed |
| Jun 22, 11:00–14:00 EAT | 1,207 | 6.7/min | Second wave — content refresh |
2. Account Bot-Like Posting Velocity.
Analysis of 437 accounts reveals that a small fraction of coordinated users drove the vast majority of overall activity. Of the total population, 164 accounts (37.5%) were flagged as suspicious due to high-velocity posting (>30 posts/hour) or low follower counts (<100 followers), yet they generated 57.7% of all posts (2,885 total).
2.1 Extreme Cases Analysis- Activity Table
| Account | Posts | Active Window | Posts/Hour | Followers |
| Charity | 34 | 1 minute | 2,040 | 293 |
| Precious | 61 | 3 minutes | 1,220 | 42 |
| GOONZEE | 39 | 2 minutes | 1,170 | 6,126 |
| josh | 31 | 2 minutes | 930 | 3 |
| PURITY MWENDE | 77 | 6 minutes | 770 | 114 |
| PROTICH 🇰🇪 | 10 | 1 minute | 600 | 291 |
| I AM CHERONO | 39 | 4 minutes | 585 | 270 |
| Denis Mwaniki🇰🇪 | 34 | 4 minutes | 510 | 141 |
| Salome Chepkirui | 54 | 7 minutes | 463 | 274 |
| Cheptoo Irene 🇰🇪 | 38 | 8 minutes | 285 | 142 |
As shown in the table above Charity leads in terms of highest Velocity hourly rate with 2,040 posts/ hour at a speed of 34 posts/minute. An account posting 2,040 retweets per hour (34 per minute) is performing one retweet every 1.8 seconds, sustained over a minute. This is not humanly achievable and indicates automated tooling. PURITY MWENDE produced the highest raw volume post count per minute (77 posts /6 minutes. GOONZEE is the only account with a substantial follower base of 6,126 followers exhibiting high-frequency activity of 1,170 posts. The activity heat map below presents the top 20 accounts, organized by posting date, with each cell indicating the corresponding post count.
2.2 Account Types by Follower Count
Low-Follower / High-Frequency Accounts
Accounts with minimal follower counts yet extreme posting frequencies—such as “josh” (3 followers, 930 posts/hour) and “precious” (42 followers, 1,220 posts/hour)—strongly signal automated or coordinated bot behavior.
Low-Follower High-Volume Profiles
Several accounts in the dataset possess under 100 followers while generating disproportionately: more than 20 posts : Precious (42 followers, 61 posts), Cal Paul (53, 55), josh (3, 31), Big mama (118, 61), makau (104, 60), PURITY MWENDE (114, 77). These profiles lack organic engagement history and exist primarily to boost volume.
2.3 Account Roles in the Network
Content Generators (high in-degree, low out-degree) create the original narrative content. Amplifiers (high out-degree, low in-degree) systematically retweet content from generators. Bridges connect different communities by both generating and amplifying. Peripheral accounts have limited network connections.
Role |
Accounts |
Avg Posts |
Total Engagement |
Avg Followers |
Total Reach |
Content Generator |
29 |
25.7 |
2,158 |
14,037 |
10,811,349 |
Bridge |
8 |
75.2 |
691 |
19,681 |
12,948,797 |
Amplifier |
46 |
45.2 |
253 |
2,078 |
5,473,694 |
Peripheral |
91 |
2.5 |
245 |
6,211 |
762,535 |
Top Content Generators
Account |
Retweets Received |
Unique Retweeters |
Role |
@LensEmpress |
143 |
36 |
Content Generator |
@joelbroownii |
132 |
44 |
Content Generator |
@Itsheatherke |
106 |
40 |
Content Generator |
@itsburberry22 |
89 |
40 |
Generator + Amplifier |
@Tweetsbymunene |
81 |
39 |
Content Generator |
@TheKenyaPundit |
81 |
38 |
Content Generator |
@AfricaElite_ |
80 |
31 |
Generator + Amplifier |
@TechTonicAi_ |
77 |
34 |
Generator + Amplifier |
High-Reach Amplifiers
Account |
Total Reach |
Posts |
@tonymkenya7 |
3,284,504 |
49 |
@muneneodg |
1,921,689 |
47 |
@africaelite_ |
1,568,625 |
75 |
@itsburberry22 |
1,124,637 |
73 |
@techtonicai_ |
974,968 |
94 |
@blury_xl |
911,196 |
44 |
@stewiiih |
878,400 |
61 |
3: Hub-and-Spoke Amplification Network- Retweet Network: Who Amplifies Whom
The campaign’s relied on an asymmetric broadcast structure where seed accounts are retweeted by many amplifiers, but amplifiers rarely retweet each other. This hub-and-spoke pattern is characteristic of orchestrated amplification rather than organic community discussion, where cross-engagement between participants would be expected.
As demonstrated in the retweet structure below, a small number of content-generating accounts (red/orange nodes in the center) produce narrative content that is then amplified by a larger ring of retweeting accounts. 19 distinct communities were detected using Louvain community detection, with the 5 dominant clusters. Overall, 3,533 retweets made up 70.7% of all posts, demonstrating that the network’s volume was largely synthetic reach rather than original conversation.
While 219 unique accounts were retweeted at least once, engagement was overwhelmingly concentrated at the top: the top 10 seed accounts accounted for 41.3% of all retweets (1,461 posts), while the top 20 seeds commanded 62.5% of the total retweet volume. This confirms a tightly hub-and-spoke operation, where original narrative content was mass-amplified by secondary accounts to manipulate visibility.
Top Seed Accounts (Content Originators)
| Rank | Seed Account | Times Retweeted | Narrative Focus |
| 1 | @Itsheatherke | 235 | UK visit, UGLE approval |
| 2 | @joelbroownii | 221 | Secrecy, seclusion rituals |
| 3 | @LensEmpress | 148 | UGLE endorsement, 33rd degree |
| 4 | @TheKenyaPundit | 144 | General amplification |
| 5 | @Tweetsbymunene | 144 | General amplification |
| 6 | @TonyMkenya7 | 141 | “BREAKING” Rachier invitation |
| 7 | @recreatedd16 | 118 | Nowrojee succession, July 31 date |
| 8 | @Crystal_Vivvy | 110 | General amplification |
| 9 | @Wamkazini | 102 | Freemasonry-politics link |
| 10 | @itsburberry22 | 98 | Transparency calls, secrecy |
4. Engagement Metrics Overview
Only 27.5% of posts (1,377 of 5,000) recorded any engagement at all. The campaign prioritised volume over quality interactions, consistent with hashtag manipulation rather than genuine discourse.
4.1 Engagement Rate by Account Type
Engagement Rate = Total Engagement / Total Reach x 100
Overall Campaign Engagement Rate: 0.0127%
This extremely low engagement rate (0.0127%) compared to typical Twitter engagement rates (0.5-2.0%) strongly indicates that the audience is largely bots or passive accounts. Real audiences engaging with sensational content about corruption, occultism, and school fires would typically generate much higher engagement rates.
Account Type |
Accounts |
Total Posts |
Total Engagement |
Total Reach |
Avg Eng Rate |
Micro (<100) |
82 |
525 |
101 |
22,633 |
3.4673% |
Low-Reach (100-1K) |
226 |
2289 |
649 |
715,432 |
0.1976% |
Mid-Reach (1K-10K) |
85 |
899 |
773 |
3,945,230 |
0.0433% |
High-Reach (10K+) |
45 |
1280 |
2470 |
26,776,822 |
0.0246% |
The bubble chart below illustrates the relationship between accounts types, number of posts hey published, and engagement generated by those posts. Each bubble represents an account type, with its position showing its posting activity relative to engagement. The size of each bubble represents the account’s total reach, with larger bubbles indicating accounts that reached a wider audience.
This makes it possible to compare not only which accounts generated the highest engagement, but also whether that engagement was driven by accounts with larger or smaller audiences. The chart therefore helps us identify highly influential accounts, highly active accounts, and smaller accounts that generate significant engagement despite having a lower reach.
4.2 Narrative Engagement Comparison
The “School_Fires” narrative generated the highest total engagement (3791), driven largely by the sheer volume of posts. However, per-post engagement remains low across all narratives (avg 0.71), confirming the campaign was designed for volume not engagement.
4.4 Top 20 Account Posts by Engagement
Account |
Engagement |
Likes |
Replies |
Reposts |
Views |
Type |
@tonymkenya7 |
141 |
31 |
62 |
26 |
11404 |
Unknown |
@drmumbiseraki |
118 |
76 |
4 |
23 |
3488 |
Quote |
@itsheatherke |
72 |
3 |
45 |
21 |
188 |
Unknown |
@itsheatherke |
71 |
2 |
46 |
19 |
1119 |
Social Post |
@joelbroownii |
70 |
4 |
43 |
19 |
206 |
Social Post |
@derrickshabz |
64 |
49 |
2 |
9 |
2712 |
Social Post |
@lilycahj |
64 |
34 |
1 |
7 |
15174 |
Unknown |
@recreatedd16 |
60 |
2 |
46 |
10 |
87 |
Social Post |
@thekenyapundit |
54 |
4 |
39 |
7 |
164 |
Social Post |
@im_mallorca |
44 |
22 |
9 |
7 |
8508 |
Social Post |
5: Templated and Manufactured Content
The content displays multiple hallmarks of centralized, possibly AI-assisted content creation.
A. Fixed Phrase Template
Nearly every post in the dataset contains the exact string:
“Church Goons Devil Worship School Fires #SabbathOfWitches”
Pie Graph showing fixed template content analysis.
This phrase appears in 4,841 out of 5,000 posts (96.8%). Authentic users composing original thoughts do not append an identical 9-word suffix to their posts. This is a templated footer designed to ensure hashtag and keyword saturation for algorithmic amplification.
B. Narrative Variations from Seed Accounts
Different seed accounts push the same claims with slight wording variations, suggesting a centralized content brief:
Key Seed Accounts & Sample Content
| Seed Account | Sample Content |
| @LensEmpress | “United Grand Lodge of England approved Gachagua’s advancement. Ambrose Rachier now invites all worthy brothers…” |
| @joelbroownii | “The heavy shroud of secrecy surrounding his exact whereabouts is a core component of the initiation training…” |
| @Itsheatherke | “Rigathi Gachagua’s recent visit to the United Kingdom is understood to have been linked to this process…” |
| @recreatedd16 | “The Wamunyoro seclusion is reminiscent of biblical accounts of prophets retreating to the wilderness…” |
| @TonyMkenya7 | “BREAKING: Ambrose Rachier has invited fellow freemasons for Rigathi Gachagua’s conferment of the 33rd degree…” |
As shown in the flourish chart below the writing style is formal, declarative, and uses passive constructions (“is understood to have been linked”) a pattern consistent with AI-generated text or professional copywriting, not casual social media posting.
5. Network Analysis
The node size represents total reach, revealing extreme asymmetry. A handful of high-follower accounts (@tonymkenya7: 3.3M reach, @muneneodg: 1.9M, @africaelite_: 1.6M) provide disproportionate visibility to the campaign, while the majority of accounts contribute minimal reach individually.
5.2 Co-Engagement Network
The network diagram below shows coordinated account clusters connected by edges sharing 3 or more retweet sources thus amplifying the same content. The dense clustering (60 nodes, 1,380 edges) indicates a tightly coordinated group where most participants amplify the same set of source accounts, consistent with bot network or organised troll farm behaviour. This density is far above what random organic behaviour would produce.
6. Hashtag Hijacking and Keyword Stuffing
School fires are a real and tragic phenomenon in Kenya. The campaign cynically co-opts genuine public grief by linking these incidents to an occult conspiracy without evidence. The campaign hijacks other trending Kenyan hashtags (#KahawaNiDollar (16 posts), #KenyansAgainstViolence (18 posts) , #LetUsPrepareInHaste (12 posts), #RutosCoffeeReforms 3 posts #EndTimesChronicles (8 posts) #HousingRevolution (37 posts) to insert its content into mainstream political conversation. This keyword-stuffing is designed to trick Twitter/X’s trending algorithm.
Several accounts posted completely unrelated commercial content (apartment listings, casino promotions, affiliate marketing links) while inserting #SabbathOfWitches and the “Church Goons Devil Worship School Fires” template:
“BEDSITTER APARTMENT TO LET ✨🏡 📍 Location: Muthiga 💰 Rent: Kshs 14,000 Per Month 📞 Call/WhatsApp: 0718074246 #LetUsPrepareInHaste #RutoCoffeeReforms… #SabbathOfWitches #CrackdownOnGoons”
“try casino online [link]… Messi #LetUsPrepareInHaste… #sabbathofwitches #KenyansAgainstViolence Crackdown On Goons devil worship”
Truth Vs Fiction.
The #SabbathOfWitches campaign is a coordinated inauthentic behavior operation, not an organic public discourse. From the analysis its purpose is to cause political damage to Rigathi Gachagua’s reputation by associating him with Freemasonry, devil worship, and school fires, exploiting religious sensitivities in Kenyan society.
Primary Claim: Gachagua-Freemasonry
| Claim | Status | Evidence |
| Gachagua is a Freemason | ❌ UNVERIFIED | No credible source has reported this. AFP has documented AI-fabricated narratives about Gachagua. |
| Will be installed as Grand Master July 31 | ❌ FABRICATED | July 31 = end of his publicly announced political conclave. No Masonic authority confirmed. |
| UK visit was for UGLE approval | ❌ FALSE | Capital FM, People Daily, Nation confirm UK visit was DCP diaspora tour. UK High Commission debunked fake letter. |
| Wamunyoro seclusion is Masonic | ❌ FALSE | Nation Africa (Jun 21, 2026) confirms political strategy retreat with 60-member caucus. |
| Rachier invited Freemasons for ceremony | ❌ UNVERIFIED | Rachier confirmed Masonic membership (Oct 2022) but no verified link to any Gachagua ceremony. |
| Nowrojee was Freemason Grand Master | ❌ UNVERIFIED | ICJ Kenya, Nation tributes describe him solely as human rights lawyer. No Masonic mention. |
| Prince Hall confirmed Master Mason degree | ❌ FABRICATED | Prince Hall is an American Masonic tradition. Inserted for false credibility. |
School Fires / Devil Worship Link
| Claim | Status | Evidence |
| School fires are real | ✅ TRUE | Endarasha 2024: 21 deaths. Utumishi 2026: 16 deaths. Extensively documented. |
| Fires linked to Freemasonry | ❌ FALSE | Investigations confirmed: overcrowding, locked exits, student arson. 9 students charged for Utumishi. |
| “Church Goons” responsible | ❌ FABRICATED | Term does not correspond to any identified group in Kenya. |
Fabricated Political Quotes
| Politician | Fabricated Claim | Status |
| Oscar Sudi | Demanded parliamentary investigation into school fires-Freemasonry | ❌ No verified report |
| Mwangi wa Iria | Declared GEMA leadership takeover rejecting Gachagua | ❌ No verified report |
| Gathoni wa Muchomba | Sacrificed political career over Masonic activities | ❌ No verified report |
DECODING THE LANGUAGE.
The central narrative in the #SabbathOfWitches campaign is framing of Wamunyoro conclave as a Satanic or occultic gathering. “Sabbath” is the traditional term for a witches’ meeting. The campaign aggressively conflates “Freemasonry” with “devil worship”. The claim that Masonic practice is grounded in occult or harmful intent is a myth prevalent in Kenya, often perpetuated by conspiracy theorists.
The #SabbathOfWitches, campaign uses specific trigger words: Foreign (UK/UGLE) + Secretive (Seclusion/Secrecy) + Occult (Sabbath of Witches/Devil Worship) + Deadly (Death/Evidence) + Elite (Conferment/Influence).
The specific event being targeted is the “conferment” (initiation/elevation) of Gachagua. Words like “Wamunyoro seclusion” and “Preparation” suggest a secretive, ritualistic gathering held in Gachagua’s rural stronghold (Wamunyoro). The “Organization” and “Location” columns heavily feature “UGLE,” “UK,” “London,” and “United Kingdom.” This frames the conferment not as a local event, but as an elite submission to a foreign and historically colonial power (British Freemasonry), tapping into deep-seated nationalist and anti-colonial sentiments in Kenya.
While overwhelmingly the sentiments are in red (negative), there are a few green, positive words: “Honor,” “Grand master honor,” “Elevation,” “Freemasonry,” “Event,” and “Information.” The positive words represent the defensive language used by Gachagua’s allies or the Freemasons themselves in trying to rebrand the “secrecy” as a prestigious, honorable “elevation” and a legitimate “freemasonry” event. However, the massive volume of negative terms as shown below (especially “evidence” vs. “information”) clearly shows that the attackers
By tying local Kenyan political figures to international Freemasonry and the death of a prominent lawyer, the campaign is attempting to paint Gachagua and Rachier as leaders who are gaining power through dark, illegitimate, and secretive foreign rituals, positioning their opponents as righteous protectors of the nation.
Can NCIC Enforce Accountability as Kenya Heads Towards the 2027 Election?
As Kenya heads towards the 2027 General Election, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has a critical responsibility to investigate and address conduct that could undermine peaceful coexistence among communities.
The Commission has summoned former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to appear on August 27, 2026, over remarks made in July 2026 during political engagements in Vihiga, Kisii and Meru counties, including the controversial “snake and eggs” statements and other alleged ethnic or inflammatory remarks.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has also been under NCIC scrutiny over remarks made in Mandera that were alleged to target the Kikuyu community. Duale publicly declared that he would not comply with an NCIC summons unless Gachagua was also summoned and questioned.
Other politicians reportedly under NCIC investigation /facing summons include Geoffrey Ruku, Paul Otuoma, Peter Kaluma, John Kaguchia, John Waluke, Ali Mohamud, Wanjiku Muhia and David Gikaria, raising important questions of accountability ,transparency and the consistent application of the Commission’s mandate .
METHODOLOGY
The dataset analysed for this investigation comprises 5,590 records scraped from X using hashtag #SabbathOfWitches from two exports (5,000 posts each; 5,950 unique records after deduplication). The data spans June 19–23, 2026 and includes metadata on content type, author handle, posting time, hashtags, engagement metrics (likes, reposts, replies, views), geographic tags, and text content.
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