Something unusual is happening across Kenya’s digital landscape: some of the country’s most recognisable brands have seemingly lost their colours.
What initially appeared to be an isolated social-media change has quickly developed into a wider mystery involving major Kenyan companies, media platforms and consumer brands.
Jumia, GA Insurance, TECNO, KCB, Glovo, Farmer’s Choice, Citizen Digital, KFC Kenya and other brands have all been drawn into the developing story, with their normally colourful digital identities appearing in black and white or with elements of their colours missing.
It started with Jumia
According to reports published on Thursday, August 20, the unusual activity began with Jumia.
The e-commerce company publicly raised the alarm over the disappearance of its signature orange colour, turning what could have been an ordinary branding change into a social-media mystery.
The move was followed by other companies reporting similar colour-related problems, prompting Kenyans online to ask whether the incidents were connected.
More brands report missing colours
The list quickly grew.
GA Insurance, TECNO, KCB, Glovo and Farmer’s Choice were among the companies reported to have experienced similar changes. Citizen Digital also became part of the story after its own normally colourful branding appeared in black and white.
The fact that several unrelated brands appeared to be experiencing the same phenomenon on the same day is what has fuelled speculation that the activity is coordinated.
Importantly, however, the brands have not publicly confirmed the identity of whoever—or whatever—is behind the disappearance of the colours.
TECNO joins the mystery
TECNO Mobile Kenya added another layer to the developing story.
According to TUKO, the company said it had checked cameras, screens and even restarted its servers while trying to determine what had happened. The brand then declared that one of its colours had “officially moved.”
The deliberately mysterious response has contributed to the growing sense that the companies are participating in something more than an ordinary technical problem.
KCB checks its “vault”
KCB also joined the conversation with its own playful response.
The bank reportedly said an internal review had found no missing colours in its vault and asked whether the delivery team had been checked.
The language used by the brands is significant because the companies are not simply announcing a technical fault. Instead, they appear to be playing along with a shared mystery.
Even Citizen Digital has lost its colours
The story took another turn when Citizen Digital itself became affected.
In a report published on August 20, Citizen Digital said the unusual activity had begun with Jumia before spreading to GA Insurance, TECNO, KCB, Glovo, Farmer’s Choice and other brands.
The publication then revealed that while following the story, it discovered that something was missing from its own colours as well.
Citizen Digital ended its report by asking:
“Where are Kenya’s colours going?”
That development is particularly notable because Citizen Digital is now both reporting on the mystery and appearing to be part of it.
KFC Kenya appears to know something
KFC Kenya has also attracted attention because of its response to the unfolding mystery.
According to TUKO, the fast-food brand posted “Niseme nisiseme?” (“Should I say it or shouldn’t I?”) before suggesting that it knew who had stolen the colours.
The post has further fuelled speculation that KFC may have some connection to the campaign or knowledge about what is happening.
But, again, there is an important distinction:
KFC has not publicly revealed the identity of the alleged colour thief or confirmed the purpose of the wider activation.
Is this a marketing campaign?
The evidence increasingly points towards a coordinated activity rather than unrelated technical problems.
The simultaneous involvement of multiple major brands, the playful language being used by the companies and the apparent interaction between some of the participating brands all make a coordinated marketing activation a reasonable explanation.
However, at the time of publication, there has been no confirmed public announcement identifying the campaign organiser, advertising agency, sponsor or final product/service behind the activity.
Therefore, it would be premature to claim that the campaign is promoting a particular product, e-commerce event, telecommunications service or national consumer promotion.
Those possibilities remain speculation until the brands involved provide more information.
Kenya waits for the reveal
For now, the mystery remains deliberately unresolved.
What started with Jumia’s missing orange has developed into a much larger story involving some of Kenya’s biggest and most recognisable brands.
The unusual campaign has also demonstrated the power of a simple digital idea: remove something instantly recognisable from a brand and let the public ask questions.
The biggest question now is not whether the colours have disappeared.
It is who—or what—took them.
And if the activity is indeed a coordinated marketing campaign, the answer could arrive with the next phase of the reveal.
For now, Kenya is watching, guessing and waiting for its colours to come back.
This is a developing story. This article will be updated as the brands involved reveal more information about the campaign.