On Wednesday, January 4, as Kenyans awaited President William Ruto's first joint media interview with the country's top journalists at State House, a video of his impersonator went viral.
In the video shared on Twitter, the unidentified man mimicked Ruto, replaying his major pledges during the campaign period with a sarcastic twist.
The comedian, who was dressed comically with what seemed to be a replica of a microphone, revisited Ruto's bottom-up economic model. According to him, Ruto model, in hindsight, meant that the prices of commodities will move from the bottom up in a literal sense.
"We are back here again because of the plans we made, we agreed you would vote for us and you did just that," the comedian began.
Here is the clip of the comic:
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"We told you about bottom-up but you misunderstood us. We meant we will take the prices from the bottom-up," he added.
The close-to-two-minute video garnered over 18,000 views and reached approximately 46,000 users. It also attracted 608 likes by the time of publishing.
Additionally, the comedian comically hinted that since boda boda riders were always involved in accidents, the government decided to increase the price of fuel to reduce the number of operators.
On the symbolic wheelbarrow used by Ruto during the campaign period, the comedian added that the government will give mama mbogas a wheelbarrow to avoid displaying their products on the ground.
"You keep reminding me that I promised you billions. Let me ask you, where can you get money for free?" He posed.
He spoke along a busy road where he attracted a huge audience that laughed hysterically at his impression of the President.
"Even if the price of unga (maize flour) gets to Ksh500, we still have God," he noted before bursting into laughter.
This video was initially shared in October 2022 but garnered less than 1,000 views. It, however, appealed to Kenyans in January 2023 as the country continues to adjust to the new administration.
Ruto in an interview with several journalists, however, noted that the increased price was well within range and that it would have skyrocketed to Ksh300 should his opponents have occupied the house on the hill.
“The average price of unga is about Ksh190, if this election went otherwise, perhaps this price could be around Ksh300," he stated.
During the campaign period, Ruto had promised to lower the cost of common household items including maize flour, fertiliser, and fuel once he takes rein.
Ruto, however, removed fuel and maize subsidies within his first 100 days in power noting that they were costing more than they benefited Kenyans.
He emphasised that his administration will focus on production rather than consumption. Therefore, he lowered the cost of fertiliser from Ksh6,500 to Ksh3,500.
