Rare Garden Look: Kenyans Do Double-Take as Didmus Barasa Drops Signature Red Hat in Casual Video

Kimilili Member of Parliament Didmus Barasa has sparked widespread reactions across social media after a low-key outdoor video captured a side of the vocal politician Kenyans rarely get to see.

In a clip uploaded to his official TikTok account, @didmuswabarasa, the lawmaker is seen lounging casually outdoors in a wooden armchair, dressed in a patterned white long-sleeve shirt and blue trousers.

Barefoot in sandals and holding a phone to his ear, Barasa chats unhurriedly with a companion seated nearby. What immediately caused viewers to pause, however, was what was conspicuously absent from the frame: his trademark red fez-style hat and dark glasses.

The iconic red cap has long served as an essential element of Barasa’s political persona. First adopted during his days with the Jubilee Party to align with its signature party colors, the headgear quickly evolved into his defining identity.

The accessory is so strongly attached to his image that parliamentary colleagues have historically raised points of order questioning his dress code whenever he has entered the National Assembly chamber without it.

Midway through the TikTok video, the MP lowers his phone to put on a pair of black-rimmed glasses before resuming his relaxed conversation on the grass. The unhurried garden setting offers a sharp contrast to the fiery, podium-ready legislator familiar to the public from political rallies and parliamentary debates.

As the video circulated online, many social media users admitted they almost failed to recognize the Bungoma politician at first glance without his customary headwear.

The moment follows separate attention surrounding his campaign secretariat, where his call for 39 unpaid volunteer roles across 23 categories prompted public debate over political campaign compensation.

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