Kenyans celebrate the well-prepared #GitheriMan voter

As Kenya digests the results of this year's election, a
photo of a man queuing to vote holding a bag of
Githeri has emerged on social media, providing some
light relief during tense times.
Githeri is a traditional meal of boiled maize and beans,
also known as mutheri, which is filling, nutritious and
cheap.
Since the hashtag #GitheriMan was created, there have
been more than 43,000 posts and even an appeal to
find the mystery man carrying what appears to be his
lunch.
A widely-circulated photo of First Lady Margaret
Kenyatta queuing to vote in Nairobi, was one of the
first to be photoshopped to include Githeri Man offering
her his food. Several other digitally-altered images put
Githeri Man alongside two US presidents, Kim
Kardashian, the Justice League and others, as
collected by entertainment and lifestyle website SDE .
NTV Kenya picked up on the trending hashtag, and
soon posted their own attempt at the meme, adding
Githeri Man alongside their presenters on their break.
The Kenyan afro-pop band Sauti Sol also included him
in their line-up.
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As his popularity has grown, Githeri Man has been
photoshopped into a series of iconic photographs from
history and popular culture, ranging from the image of
senior US officials watching the mission against
Osama bin Laden, to President Trump's meeting with
Pope Francis.
Much talked-about television series Game of Thrones
did not escape the meme-fest. Julie tweeted out a
character holding out two bags of Githeri.
Some people assumed the man is hard up, but as
Thomas pointed out on Chris Kirwa's instagram post ,
he was prepared for a long and hungry wait in the
queue.
On the same post, Simon lobbied to send Githeri Man
on holiday after he has "united Kenyans across political
divide and brought a sense of humour during the tense
election period".
There have been offers of more food, with one baker
offering to " appreciate #GitheriMan with a cake."
Several tweets suggest people are 'quick to judge' that
he might need help. For example, @StanleyMejah
tweeted: "It's amazing how people determine what a
person lacks by how he dresses and what he eats
#GitheriMan".
A Jamaican DJ called the assumption that Githeri Man
needs his life fixing was "arrogant," adding: "He's
probably happier than most people here."
After a widespread search, Githeri Man has been found,
according to Teddy Eugene of The African Voice radio.
His name is Martin Kamotho, aged 41, who works as a
cleaner in the county government of Nairobi.
However, with the issue of electoral fraud and fear of
violence prominent in Kenya, some have been quick to
point out those "obsessed" with #Githeriman makes
them "worry about this great nation's priorities."
Written by BBC UGC and Social News team, with
additional help from BBC Monitoring
Related Topics
Kenya Social media
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