IShowSpeed: The flair, the craze, the drama... How 20-year old streamer shook Nairobi

Speed's arrival on Sunday morning saw the government scramble to welcome him and sell the country, with the Ministry of Tourism sending out a fleet of flattering tweets aimed at catching his attention and tapping into the unprecedented global exposure the nation was about to be plunged into.

Everyone, from the gilded corridors of State House to the darkest corners of the internet, wanted a piece of the action.

Before his arrival, Kenyan content creator Vindee had inundated the internet with fabled tales of Speed's supposed itinerary, dragging along his followers down an imaginary maze of his ties to the Speed world, peppering his Tiktok videos with cheap fibs and fanciful fabrications of Speed's maiden Nairobi stop, his involvement in it and the activities ahead.

Moments after landing, Nairobi was converted into dreadful pandemonium as thousands poured onto the streets, stomping their way into KICC and quickly forming a formidable block of a human massif, the air choking with adoring salutations and deafening chants of 'Speed Speed!'.

Along the city streets, traffic ground to a gnashing halt as the police battled the frenzied crowds, struggled to clear the roads and marshalled motorists whose engines rumbled on as they also craned their necks, too absorbed in the euphoria.

As he made his grand entrance, atop an SUV, all hell broke loose; girls cried their souls away, grown men stared in a stunned gaze, diehard fans clamoured for attention, and mobile phones were whipped out, everyone pressing record and struggling to capture the moment that appeared too surreal, too freakishly illusory, to be true.

In his signature aura, Speed quickly dazzled the crowd with his chaotic charm and seductive personality, easily soaking up the energy, working up the masses, commanding the mood and masterfully lighting up the KICC grounds with unmatched ease and delightful magnetism.

Within seven short hours, a lot happened. Speed moved from scenery to scenery with the precision of an Amazonian Jaguar; stealthy, calculated, attentive and steadfastly accurate.

As he arrived at the Nairobi National Park, the streaming marvel was met by an ecstatic crowd, which erupted into a ball of unbridled exhilaration as he drove closer, waving at the masses, marvelling at the sheer number of people and soaking in the striking reverence from a crowd too stunned to be in the presence of a streaming messiah. 

Like a Spartacan gladiator, riding victoriously on the back of a cantering horse, Speed stormed through Nairobi with heightened fervour and astonishing heat, clothed in humility but still exuding the absolute power of a head of State.

At the Nairobi National Park, he adopted and named a rhinoceros, calling it 'Rhynaldo', a portmanteau of the original name for the animal and the name of his favorite soccer star of all time, Christiano Ronaldo.

Known for connecting powerfully and sensorially with his audiences, either virtually or in real life, Speed made quick stops at several outlets which, at some point, included a 'Kibanda' where he tried his hand at making ugali and also a kitchenette where he took time to spin chapati and give out the dish to the yearning crowds watching in glee.

His every move was a masterclass on strategy: almost seamlessly, he morphed from character to character in real time, donning several hats within a short time, evolving from reaction to reaction and fully immersing himself into a cocktail of experiences and managing to share his feelings in wondrous distinction and meticulous accuracy.

At Upper Hill High School, he led the students into chanting 'Upper Hill Tuko!' and while riding in a souped-up matatu with his face emblazoned across half the windscreen, Speed jammed along to popular Arbantone hits as he savoured the street ambience and the unmistakable undertones of Nairobi's notorious matatu thrills. 

Atop the KICC, the streamer would dazzle the world after embarking on an adrenaline-packed tour of the city skies, repeatedly marveling at the grandeur of Nairobi's skyline and, while at it, achieving a remarkable feat - 48 million YouTube subscribers.

"We are about to hit 47.9 million. I don't think you understand how crazy that is. No other country so far in this tour has been able to gain this amount of subs in one stream. Kenya is so far number one," he said on his stream.

At one point, the livestream pulled in over 200,000 live viewers, marking one of the biggest streaming moments in Kenya’s internet history and a Speed record in itself.

As hundreds of thousands of viewers tuned in from all around the world, Speed moved rapidly; he chaotically rode a camel, toured the Mukuru Affordable Housing Project, played basketball with enthused fans, and even interacted with Kenyan spectacle Gen Z Goliath, who, at some point, scooped him up and even wowed him with his rare height and massive shoe size.

From spot to spot, activity to activity, Speed oozed an unparalleled splash of stamina and radiance, his infectious voice, beguiling charm and cheeky facial gestures leaving the crowds in a hypnotic stupor.

As the stream gathered heat, thousands of Kenyans jammed the comment section with the popular refrain: 'Ruto Must Go!', prompting the confused streamer to wonder out loud, "Who is Ruto?" 

And after close to eight hours of non-stop streaming, intense pursuits, exceptional discoveries and crowd-charged encounters, Speed surreptitiously sneaked out of the city, aware that an outright declaration of departure would be met with resounding resistance from his legion of minions.

Unlike many who have frivolously used the slogan 'I came, I saw, I conquered' before, Speed, born Darren Watkins, can confidently claim to have come to Kenya, seen Kenya and emphatically conquered the country and in a manner that left social pundits, celebrities, politicians, everyday folk and even high-ranking barons either utterly stunned or thoroughly impressed.

Already, the Kenyan leg of his 'Speed Does Africa' tour has amassed the most views since the streaming challenge kicked off, with the historic stream currently standing at a staggering 9 million views. 

As he moves to his next conquest, in the next African nation, Kenyans are elated that, at least, his Kenyan trip won't become just another footnote in his foreign forays, but an indelible pilgrimage which didn't just turn him into a demigod, but also spectacularly altered his worldwide YouTube domination.