Kenyans raise concern over Adolf Hitler's imagery across Nairobi

In one photo shared by an X (formerly Twitter) user, Hitler's face can be seen plastered allover the walls at the Valley Heights apartments' bathrooms.

From the photos shared online, the words 'Deustche Laftpost' cab be seen encircled over what clearly appears to be an Adolf Hitler mailing stamp.

Between 1933 and 1945, Adolf Hitler appeared on a range of stamps issued by Germany and those countries occupied by Germany during World War Two. 

To this day, these stamps, though cheap, still exist and are kept by collectors allover the world.

However, not all stamps of the Third Reich feature Hitler's portrait; many earlier issues reflect the Nazi ideology or commemorate military or political events of the past.

In yet another tweet shared by a concerned Kenyan, Hitler's portrait can be seen painted at the entire back of a public minivan (matatu) registration number KCC 613Y.

The German tyrant's symbol - the swastika - is also prominently featured, covering the entire matatu's roof. 

While sharing the photos, X user Arnold Lakita seems to suggest that the matatu crew had been arrested by police ostensibly for appearing to promote the genocidal German dictator.

"Westlands...Is wildin'! This, is a matatu emblazoned with the 'Fuehrer's' visage, complete with swastikas...As I was taking the pics, the crew had already been arrested by law enforcement and traffic cops, your guess is as good as mine as to why they were busted!" he wrote.

In the comment section, another user shared yet another instance of Adolf Hitler imagery - this time, his face was proudly emblazoned across a boda boda's front fender.

While reacting to the tweets, one user said, "But we print the queen as a saint. How many Africans were killed by the west? But when the west kills the west they make us hate the "villain". KKK still exists but Hitler's images and the swastika is an arrestable offence. Buana bado tumecolonisiwa!"

On his part, social commentator Nahashon Kimemia said," I am surprised that they even got it on the road. Adolf Hitler hated black people. He felt that we were an inferior race who deserved to be slaves. The fact that we could have such graffiti on our roads for a minute or so shows how much we also hate ourselves. We are idiots!"

Another user @Carlton_Kitheka also chimed in saying, "People are really daft out here, why would you have this painted on a van? Please read more, wengine wenu mko very ignorant. Painting a swastika isn't like painting a dragon or celebrity!"

More and more Kenyans shared their sentiments with a few supporting free speech but most saying that proudly featuring Hitler's imagery on your business was a callous move done either out of ignorance or pure hardheadedness.

"Why should anyone be arrested over this? You can't police art! People have the liberty to like whoever they chose. You cannot dictate who people chose to admire. It's a free world! The white man labeled Dedan Kimathi a 'terrorist' right? It's really all about perspective. We are not in 1950 anymore!" user Martin Mbogo opined.

Allover the world, Nazi symbols and imagery have been roundly condemned and is officially deemed offensive and punishable by most governments.

In June 2023, Australia announced that it would introduce a national ban on Nazi symbols, in an effort to crack down on far-right groups.

Public displays of the swastika or SS symbols would be punishable by up to a year in prison, however, the new laws would not cover the Nazi salute.

And in Croatia, small packets of sugar bearing the likeness of Adolf Hitler and carrying Holocaust jokes were found in some cafes, prompting an investigation.