Kenyans have mummified the dusty town of Ruiru after Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria suggested that items in Ruiru are considerably cheaper and more affordable than in other parts of the country.
CS Kuria, famed for his tantrums and penchant for hurling epithets, denied newscaster Sam Gituku's proof that cooking oil prices have not reduced by as much as he said on Citizen TV on Wednesday night. Citizen TV was forced to go to an Eldoret store to demonstrate that the Cabinet Secretary's remark was incorrect.
When confronted with the facts, a testy Kuria attempted to dismiss them, telling the news panel that they should now proceed to Ruiru and do a similar survey, stating, "Let's go now to Ruiru, send a crew there; we've been here for two hours, what's the hurry for?" If you're Ruiru..."
Ruiru is a municipality and sub-county in Kenya's Kiambu County.
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Kuria's unsurprising statement sparked outrage on the internet, with many individuals struggling to reconcile the insanity of his claims with the national cost of living statistics.
Immediately, memes began to circulate, with many people sarcastically referring to Ruiru as the Land of Milk and Honey. In contrast, others joked that they were planning to relocate to Ruiru because life was cheaper there and, if the CS was any indication, things were more affordable.
Ruiru is currently the most trending subject on the microblogging platform X (previously Twitter).
Kenyans on X have now broadened the discourse to include things other than cooking oil - now, Kenyans are saying that fuel might be cheaper in Ruiru (fuel prices have crossed the Ksh.200 mark for the first time in Kenya's history). Others have dragged Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's tiger gaffe in Colombia into the mix.
The joke began when X user Kianangih shared a photo of an abandoned fuel station road sign stating low petrol and diesel pricing, implying that this was the fuel price in Ruiru.
From there, there was a hilarious race to the bottom, with every Kenyan on X asking the same thing: "Nani ako Ruiru atuambie bei ya mafuta ni how much?"
Citizen TV's Sam Gituku, whose show featured the Ruiru comparisons, also went online to respond to someone claiming fuel was cheaper in Ruiru, saying, "I wish to disassociate myself from any claims that fuel is cheaper in Ruiru." But if necessary, I have a contact! "
Another user, @ruthlessfocus, responded to a video of Rigathi Gachagua urging Colombians to view "rare tigers in Kenya" by commenting, "He's not lying. Tigers have arrived in Ruiru!"
