Kenyan football fans are convinced that Thierry Henry would have been from Kikuyu if he was from their country.
During a recent promotional video for Guinness Kenya, Henry spoke in Swahili, which was impressive in itself. However, what Kenyan fans picked up on was the way in which he pronounced a certain word.
get ready 16th December. Henry speaks Swahili ready to blend in with his true fans. be there to meet him. #GuinnessFrontRowFan pic.twitter.com/TYtlTNt9e2
— Stifler 🧘🏽♂️ (@Samzen_) November 29, 2017
The way the Arsenal legend said the word ‘kichwa’, which means head, was apparently with a Kikuyu accent. Instead of the ‘ch’ being hard, as in ‘chair’, is was soft, as in ‘share’.
Kikuyu is a the largest ethnic group in Kenya and therefore, a handful of people who watched the video noticed.
Henry looks and speaks swahili like a typical kikuyu from Kiambu
— Edwards Keith (@ASStronomer92) November 30, 2017
Although both Henry’s parents are from France, that’s not stopped some fans from speculating over the 40-year-old’s background.
The Premier League is big in Kenya, so you can imagine why certain fans would be so excited to hear what they believe to be their own accent coming from Thierry Henry’s mouth.
However, what’s more likely is that the ex-forward’s French tongue was the reason behind his pronunciation.