Kenya’s President William Ruto has come under fire after pledging to purchase a chapati-making machine capable of producing one million chapatis daily for Nairobi high school students. The announcement, made during his development tour in Nairobi, has been widely criticized as a misplaced priority.
While visiting St. Teresa Girls Secondary School in Mathare, Ruto responded to an appeal from Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, who requested assistance in acquiring the machine to support the Dishi Na County school feeding program.
Over 300,000 children are benefiting from the program; that means we need a machine to produce a million chapatis every day. I have asked the President for it, Sakaja said.
Ruto assured the enthusiastic students, I have agreed to buy a chapati-making machine. Governor, your work is now finding where to buy it.
However, many Kenyans criticized the promise, arguing that it does not address urgent economic challenges, education funding shortages, or healthcare issues. Critics on social media dismissed the pledge as an unnecessary diversion from key national priorities.
Many Kenyans took to X (formerly Twitter) to ridicule the announcement. Some sarcastically compared Ruto’s promise to global technological advancements, while others branded him “El Chapo,” a play on chapati’s street name “chapo” and the infamous Mexican drug lord.
One user wrote:
Chinese president launches 20 bullet trains, 3 space stations, and 5,000 km of expressway… Japan opens a nuclear power plant… Ibrahim Traore builds 50 hospitals in a year. William Ruto: I’ll buy a machine that makes 1 million chapatis a day.
Another post read:
How has Kenya sunk so low? While serious nations discuss AI, infrastructure, and disease eradication, our president is lying to high school students about chapatis!
A Citizen Digital financial analysis estimated that producing one million chapatis daily would cost taxpayers up to Ksh 10 million per day, or Ksh 2.5 billion annually, excluding transport, labor, and distribution expenses.
Despite growing public frustration and previous appeals from clergy and civil leaders urging the president to focus on governance rather than roadside promises, Ruto continues to make pledges that have yet to materialize.
Source: citizen.digital
