Transcript
Patrick Abure: Welcome to the Spack It podcast with Patrick CJ and Kimaru Baby. Kimaru Baby, you're welcome. How are you doing?
Kimaru: Thank you. um I'm doing great, honestly. can't complain. I feel blessed. So can't wait to have this conversation, yeah?
Patrick Abure: Amazing.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. ah So I woke up this morning and I looked through Facebook and I saw this trending story to do with the chapatties.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: Okay.
Kimaru: Oh, wow.
Patrick Abure: in Kenya.
Kimaru: Yes.
Patrick Abure: And yes, so chapati is the latest trending topic in Kenya.
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: And I was just wondering, like, what's all about the chapati thing in Kenya?
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: It looks like I am behind the news.
Kimaru: ah
Kimaru: Oh, wow. I think our president has a way of making stuff trend. Yeah, so that's kind of the latest from, you know, his desk. He promised pupils at a school that he will buy a machine that would make a million chapatis a day so that it can contribute to a school feeding program that was started by the governor of Nairobi county it's called um dish in a county this she is like food yeah yeah it's like slang for for food because chocolate is kiswahili but dish in a way slang for your food yeah
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: Oh, yeah. So this program was actually started in 2023 by the county government of Nairobi, headed by Sakaja, who is the governor. Yeah, and their goal was to... They say that one in four students don't have, like, a nutritious meal to keep them going through a school day.
Kimaru: That's why they introduced that dish in our county. It's sort of almost... If you know Food for Education, that's what, like, Food for Education has been advocating for. And I actually think their are partners...
Kimaru: in this. So when they started this program, um when they started Dishina County, they wanted to ah have like ah children in Nairobi get hot meals every lunch and to make sure that students were sort of kind of included in their, you know, in this whole idea of we're bringing you food at school.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: the The kids pay or the parents pay like five shillings per meal Yeah, so they have, ayagu was actually doing a bit of research on that. they have ah
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah.
Kimaru: ah something they call tap to eat. It's a wristband they wear on their hands and it's actually connected to, it's it's supposed to streamline the meals, like how many meals a kid has a day.
Kimaru: And so it monitors like the payment and also if like the student attendance, because if a student doesn't attend, you can easily monitor through that wristband and know that, oh, this school may be, this kid may be missed school.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: because they didn't log in yeah and also like parents can um
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: can load like credits to the to that wristband using their M-Pesa. So it sounds like actually a very fancy, I didn't know much about it, but after this chapati thing, yeah, I think honestly the county government is doing something really nice.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: And now to the chapati story. So apparently the ah governor told the president, they were doing like a school visit or something. You know, lately the president has been going around the,
Kimaru: the county in different stops and he went to a school.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: ah the The governor had talked to those kids and he's like, what do you want us to add to your meals? The kids are like, chapati.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: You know, chapati in Kenya has been revered. You know, it's like something I remember like when you were kids, actually, we used to only eat chapatis in December, like during Christmas.
Patrick Abure: Wow.
Kimaru: it was it was that you know It was that thing you would anticipate and sometimes you would hear, you would feel like the smell, somebody's cooking chapatis in their home and it's not a holiday.
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Kimaru: And it was such a big deal.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So for the governor to have asked the kids what they want and the kids said chapati, So when they had this meeting at the school, including now the president, the president says, oh, you know, the governor has told me that you guys need chapatis to be included in the in your school feeding program.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: i will You know the promises that politicians make. So he told them that he's going to get a machine. They can prepare one million chapatis a day.
Kimaru: And the kids are like, yeah.
Patrick Abure: One million.
Kimaru: Yes, one million chapatis.
Patrick Abure: That's a lot of chapatis.
Kimaru: Oh, and now after that, Kenyans got busy. That's why youre you've seen that online.
Kimaru: Yeah, that's the genesis of the chapatis and why they are trending and why people are wearing chapatis as clothes. as but What have you seen, though, by the way?
Kimaru: Because it's so hilarious.
Patrick Abure: It is. Yeah.
Kimaru: Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: i Because I saw... I watched a couple of videos...
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: And I saw these ones basically where a they the governor, I think, was asking the peoples and the peoples asked for chapatis.
Kimaru: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: And then another segment where
Kimaru: hu
Patrick Abure: another video where the president was also asking the peoples the same question. And they were like, yeah, we want chapatis.
Kimaru: wants chapati. I think even Patrick wants chapati, right?
Kimaru: See, you said you're a fan of chapati.
Patrick Abure: i am I am a big lover of chapati.
Kimaru: Uh-huh. Yeah.
Patrick Abure: I love chapati. Yeah.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: So, I mean, technically, if you had to ask me, it's going to be a yes. Oh, man.
Kimaru: Oh, wow. Wow. So it looks like if you were in that school, you would have been like the biggest cheerleader of these chapatis coming. And you're like, please, chapatis, chapatis, chapatis.
Kimaru: hey Yeah, I see.
Patrick Abure: oh man
Kimaru: yeah People do love chapati. I don't know. A funny thing is that I know how to cook chapati, but I think I don't fancy chapati that much.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: But I enjoy cooking chapati for people and people love it.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: So I don't know. It's, as I said, it's something that people, for the longest, like most people don't necessarily eat it every day. So it becomes like that meal you enjoy, you know, when you come across it.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah.
Kimaru: So, Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah, it is. And I came across this story um from, and anyway, a newspaper in ni Kenya.
Patrick Abure: And they were saying that the president promised to deliver these machines to every school. LAUGHTER
Kimaru: really? Interesting. Damn. Looks like the kids will be eating chapattis until they'll get bored, honestly, if this happens.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yeah, and the kids were asking for addition of meat to the chapatis.
Kimaru: who Oh, no, actually, speaking of ah which, you know, the Rebbe Kenyans have been making fun of that idea of chapati. So ah people were asking, now that the president has promised to give kids chapati at school, should they carry their own stew?
Patrick Abure: Right.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah.
Kimaru: Oh my God. It's, it's honestly, yeah. Should they carry like their own stew to school or something? Or I know some people asking, can we also like get the chapatis? We can come with our own stew.
Patrick Abure: I'm telling you. Oh, man.
Kimaru: And honestly, like but also, ah but before maybe we even even go further into this conversation, you see the Dishina County program, they say that it has employed, like ara it has created like around 5,000 jobs.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: And also like most of the things they cook, they are usually like locally sourced from farmers.
Patrick Abure: Wow.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: If it's like rice, they get rice from Moya. Moya is in a place in in Kenya called Kirinyaga. So they they they their rice is usually called moya because their rice farms, so if I can't remember what you call rice, whatever's plantation or something, it's moya tebere.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So yeah, so they say they get their rice from there. Seems like they're promoting local agriculture.
Kimaru: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Contributing to the local economy.
Kimaru: Yeah, and they say they actually, the Dishina County, they say they they feed like around 310,000 people a day. So if really that number is true, then I guess they are doing amazing.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Patrick Abure: Yeah, and also honestly, like considering there are so many reports that basically say um that link, for example, performance in school, ah academic performance with, for example, sometimes food and other kind of social issues that people might be going.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: the
Kimaru: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: So food is like a very critical part. of the learning journey. So it's good to see that ah Nairobi County is doing that.
Kimaru: That's true.
Kimaru: I hope
Patrick Abure: um And probably many other schools are doing a similar thing in other counties as well.
Kimaru: so.
Patrick Abure: That is not making it to the media.
Kimaru: i hope so Yeah, I hope they actually do because i remember when we were in school, food was like such a big deal.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Like like these kids are during lunch hour, during my time, who could ah who did not probably carry like a meal. So I remember like for a class, we used to sort of like contribute.
Kimaru: So you'll find that if you come with something, you give them a small share.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: So by the end of the day, that kid has eaten actually a lot of food because kids were used to be a bit generous, especially for, I can speak for my class.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: Yeah, but there's kids who miss out on on food, like a lunch. And then that means, of course, they would not their performance wouldn wouldn't be as good as you said.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: So, yeah. Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yeah, absolutely.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. And I was, so because I came across these pictures where basically like roads within Kenyan towns have been painted with chapati, like there's chapati all over the place.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm. That's awesome. ahha
Patrick Abure: And I was like, yeah, is Kenya secretly preparing for the chapati Olympics?
Kimaru: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Because with one million chapatis daily, Kenya will definitely take the
Kimaru: That's a lot of difficulties.
Kimaru: I swear, that's like a lot, a lot of chapatis, honestly. You could actually say, yes, we are we are preparing for some Olympic for, you know, or whatever. But chapati marabons, they're going to...
Patrick Abure: Chapati Olympics.
Kimaru: I think now we won't even have to rely on our athletes to do the thing. We just need to line up the chapatis. And since most of the times they just look similar, you know, if you you start with one and just, you know, at the end of the finishing line, we already won.
Patrick Abure: ah
Kimaru: Because the chapatras are already on the finishing line. But I don't know.
Patrick Abure: Oh, man.
Kimaru: I feel like um people have used the AI to generate ah lots of images. And i think, according to me, it's being used...
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: um in a very satirical way ah to talk about the politics in Kenya right now.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: And especially because Kenyans have sort of had issues with the current government, especially since last year.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: So ah them like say talking about the chapatis and the reason why I think it's actually trending, it's because people are actually being sarcastic about it.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Obviously.
Kimaru: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Yeah, that's why it's on. and And you know, by the way, in Kikuyu, now that a Kikuyu, in Kikuyu, we call chapati shah fa she shafashi.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: You get? Yes, shafashi.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So remember, so what what people have been doing, like, let me give an example that I have seen.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: sure ah There's the social health...
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Social health something, the most recent whatever that was introduced, sure, means, why am i even forgetting?
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Yes, but it is the most recent introduced whatever for insurance, health insurance in Kenya.
Patrick Abure: oh
Kimaru: we used to have another health insurance that was called HIF.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: But now the gu the the current government did away with that system and decided to ah transfer Kenyans to a new system. that's called SHA for the health insurance. Yes.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: And funny thing is that it has not been working. People have been, when it was introduced, I don't think there was a lot of civic education that was done around it or a bit of awareness.
Kimaru: So there has been lot of issues with the whole transferring us to like a new system. and people have, there's people who have had to pay with their lives. And there's just a lot of things that are not working with the system.
Kimaru: There's like private hospitals that have withdrawn from being part of this share.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: So it means that if you go to a hospital, You have to dig deeper into your pockets if you go to a private hospital to pay for ah you know for services.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah.
Kimaru: So for sha, now you see when you call it, because chapatin kikui is in ah ah sha-fa-shi, so you see now what people are doing?
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: They are like sha, they put it in caps.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: Then fa-shi.
Kimaru: But what they're trying to communicate is, you know, I think it's more about, oh, so we can have chapati, but we cannot have a working health system.
Patrick Abure: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Kimaru: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Honestly, i i definitely came across comments that suggest such a sentiment, like online.
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: ah Yeah, like for for for me, I think what i noticed was that Kenyans are not...
Kimaru: her
Patrick Abure: particularly against the one million chapatis, right?
Kimaru: Yeah.
Kimaru: hu who
Patrick Abure: Or even the guy that basically asked for this one million chapati machine.
Kimaru: Yes.
Patrick Abure: I think people are just mad that there are other issues.
Kimaru: who
Patrick Abure: You know, like, for example, there's no...
Kimaru: Yes.
Patrick Abure: proper drainage.
Kimaru: Yes.
Patrick Abure: There are poor roads.
Kimaru: In Nairobi especially. he
Patrick Abure: Exactly. The health sector is still unhealthy. Like, there's so many things.
Kimaru: True,
Patrick Abure: Yeah. There's shortage of water supply.
Kimaru: true, true.
Patrick Abure: There are no jobs for youth, you know, and and and women and and men in Nairobi.
Kimaru: the
Patrick Abure: So I totally see, like, you know, why people are mad about this.
Kimaru: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: and
Kimaru: Priorities.
Patrick Abure: And I also see why others are not mad because they're like, you know what? You can't study when you're hungry. Yeah.
Kimaru: uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: But you know, speaking of which, I think it's more about, ah what is it called, misplaced priorities.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: Because for example, there's a school I know of in Trukana that was trending a while back.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: There's this comedian in Kenya called Ericomondi. Ericomondi had gone to that school and built them a structure.
Patrick Abure: yeah yeah
Kimaru: And then somebody came and demolished that. It was a structure i made of iron sheets. Somebody demolished that structure.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: And that was like somebody put in some effort to make sure that these kids have a classroom because they didn't have a classroom. I think they were actually studying under a tree, if I'm not wrong, in northern Kenya.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: Yeah. So how how are you buying us a machine that can make also 1 million chapatis
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: instead of probably building a school or a classroom for such kids, for example, is really chapati a priority?
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: And you know, chapati is a bit of a luxury in Kenya, especially for the most common ah Kenyan, everyday Kenyan.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah.
Kimaru: It costs a lot to prepare chapati. Because even right now, chapati, if you go to, like you see the way people cook chapati on the road or something like that.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: If you go buy chapati right now, just one.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: it's And it's small. It's not so big. It retails at around 20 25 shillings.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So if it's that expensive to make one chapati, it means maybe the disgruntledies probably find them an easier meal, use that money to build a school somewhere, you know.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: yeah yeah
Kimaru: are
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: But you can be like, you're promising to give us chapati when there's more, ah what like what's your priority, honestly? That's what I would think Kenyans are thinking right now, what's your priority?
Patrick Abure: Right, right.
Kimaru: Or maybe that's what I'm thinking.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: Yeah, it just goes to show sort of like misplaced priorities. I feel like it sounds so fancy to definitely provide chapatis. And maybe it is good to provide chapatis at some point.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: Maybe kids deserve to eat chapatis, even if it's once in a while. But the reason why for me, maybe as on in my personal view, I'd be like chapatis is not a priority is because, as I have said,
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: There's a school probably that doesn't have a classroom.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: There's a school that doesn't have enough teachers.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: And let me just give you, I actually got a screenshot. um
Patrick Abure: Okay.
Kimaru: There was this there was this ah journalist called Stephen Leto. He works ah at Citizen.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So he did like a breakdown of how much it will cost students. to do these chapatis per day. So they say a one packet of the unga will give you one packet of, I think it's two kg unga, gives you wheat, gives you like wheat fly, I mean, it gives you 25 chapatis.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So you need 40,000 packets per day to make 1 million chapatis.
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: Yes, one of one packet of that i requires you to have like half a liter of cooking oil So 40,000 packets will need you to to have 20,000 liters per day.
Patrick Abure: Mm hmm.
Kimaru: You see the economics around these.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So then they say like one packet of that unga costs 164 shillings.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: That's like a dollar or something, around $1.5, yeah. And then um half a liter of cooking oil goes for 189 Kenya shillings.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: <unk> shiing Yeah, just, yes.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: So 40,000 packets will need you to, you'll have to buy that using 6.5 million. And 20,000 liters will need you to use 3.7 million.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: Remember, we are talking about per day.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: So consumption per day goes to 10.2 million.
Patrick Abure: Yeah, yeah,
Patrick Abure: yeah.
Kimaru: Does it make economic sense?
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So per week, you need 71.9 million. And he said, per year, which is around 36, I think they say 36 weeks of learning because of the school holidays, ah you need 2.5 billion.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: 5 billion. Yeah.
Kimaru: to Yeah, 2.5 billion. And he has included, he says, it's excluding cost of transport, labor, distribution, ETC. You've not even paid the people who made the chapati.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: youth You have not distributed the Japati to the schools.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: Like, yes.
Patrick Abure: right
Kimaru: Anyway, now you see why it doesn't make sense.
Patrick Abure: and But what is the cost of the current feeding program or programs?
Kimaru: ah
Patrick Abure: Do you know?
Kimaru: No, I'm not sure. i would have to to find out. But um I would think that, um' as I said, i and i know I have not necessarily found out how much it costs, but I would think that the fact that they started that feeding program in 2023 and they've been able to sustain it up to now, it means it's something sustainable.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: As I said, ah chapati is more of a luxury product in the context of the food that kids eat at school.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So if you have you can afford the most basic meals, it might be even costlier probably to to have chapattis instead of another simpler meal. Yeah, so maybe whatever else they're feeding them might be a bit cheaper.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Interesting. So um how many chapatis can you realistically eat in one sitting?
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: I'm asking for a friend in state house.
Kimaru: Oh, that one actually differs from one person to the other. Like for me, I think I can't do more than two.
Kimaru: But there's people who would eat even five chapatis. And for me, even no one, I'm comfortable.
Patrick Abure: I know i can do more than five. Yeah.
Kimaru: What? In one sitting?
Kimaru: See, that's what I mean, you know?
Kimaru: Yes, and you have i even my brothers, side please, they should forgive me. ah Sometimes my brothers can eat like a lot of chapatis at once, and I'm looking at them, I'm like, guys, where did you get the appetite?
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: Because for me, like I can't. Yeah, but realistically, let's say between one and five chapatis in a sitting, depending on who is eating this chapati.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Right. Yeah.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: It was interesting. You know, is
Kimaru: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: there are wild comments online.
Kimaru: hu which one was like your your most like the wildest for you for example mm-hmm
Patrick Abure: For me, one person was asking whether chapati is
Kimaru: mm-hmm mm-hmm
Patrick Abure: have become part of the presidency manifesto.
Kimaru: who
Kimaru: but we Actually, at this point, we might not even know what exactly was in the manifesto. There has been too many promises that have not been fulfilled. Please, Anne. You know, by the way, when Kenyans, we are talking about these things, people be giving you disclaimers even and online.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Like today, actually, now let me go back to your the comments.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: I was checking somebody who had done a video on these chapati issues.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: And then somebody was saying at who you are sha.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: You get like shafashi. They had done that thing for shafashi. So they're like who you are sha. They put the sha in cards.
Patrick Abure: yeah that is not I know
Kimaru: They're like who you are sha abductiwa to mean this one has already been abducted. It's funny, but you're not even supposed to laugh about it because what they mean was this has already been abducted because you're criticizing the government at this point.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Yeah, so please, and no one should come for me. i hey wait
Kimaru: ah But ah the way thing I see it, I think that chapati thing elicited a lot of conversations online.
Patrick Abure: i
Kimaru: And it's good that people are actually ah making content around this because now people can actually work on addressing the real issues.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Kimaru: Because if you go to the comment section, people are calling out like things they see that are going wrong.
Patrick Abure: yes Yeah.
Kimaru: You know, they are calling out the priorities of the government
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: They are questioning actions of politicians or people who represent us
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: Yeah, so for me, I think it's,
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: It was good that he said that because now we can have these discussions and also now like, you know, it kind of awakens your thoughts and you start thinking about what are these real issues that we need to focus on as a as a nation, whether on a personal level, ah ah also even like for our leaders, how can you also like hold them accountable?
Patrick Abure: yeah
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: So yeah, that's what I think honestly.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah, for sure. Yeah. um Someone who was asking online, and I want to get your opinion on this.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: They were asking, are
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: chapati the key to academic success in Kenya?
Kimaru: isn
Kimaru: Oh my God. I would say ah and this point it depends who is saying it, but I would say yes and no. Because as we thrived, we were doing well. We didn't have to eat chapatis. Maybe we were eating chapati once a year during Christmas and we survived and we did well.
Kimaru: But if the government implements this program,
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: I think it could be they're trying to tell us that kids cannot do well without the Japanese. Because why insist? Why are you insisting on giving us a machine? Even by there, was now I come to think of it, I was wondering, why are you bringing a machine and the way ah Kenyans have been so jobless?
Kimaru: probably just create employment.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Like there's so many Kenyans out here who have no work and people keep looking for work. ah No one is creating employment for them or maybe they are not in a place to create their own employment.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So if if as a government you would do us a favour, maybe it would be to create employment, not to bring machines to do work we could do so easily.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Right.
Kimaru: Speaking of which, I saw a video on TikTok.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: ah There were guys, I don't know where they had gone somewhere. I don't know. They were cooking chapattis. You know, there is that jiko. don't know whether you know what a jiko is. The one that you use, chako.
Patrick Abure: Nah. Oh, yeah.
Kimaru: It's, it's, um, yeah, there's, I don't know. Yeah. In Kenya, we call it Jiko. It's just some type of banner that you use Chako. So I saw some people online, they were lined up like a whole queue of people.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Everybody had their own Chako banner with whatever, and they were cooking chapatis.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Somebody was like, Hey, this one's already got the memo. They're already cooking. I wonder where they're supplying.
Patrick Abure: They are supplying the schools.
Kimaru: Maybe they're supplying the schools before the machine arrives.
Patrick Abure: You know, though,
Kimaru: Oh, my God. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: and now a different opinion on this.
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: ah I came across someone who actually made a post about this, and this is what he said.
Kimaru: who
Kimaru: who
Patrick Abure: quote-unquote, rich people chapatis as trash.
Kimaru: who
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: But that's because they don't see the excitement when the kids were told that chapatis were going to be delivered.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: He continues to say, you don't just know what a chapati meal means to a ghetto kid. And I really do think he has a point.
Kimaru: Yes.
Patrick Abure: What do you think?
Kimaru: no, no like it's actually true. As I said, growing up for me, for example, chapatis were such a big deal. It's not like something you would get access to every day. You get
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: it would be like on very specific occasions.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Oh, there's a holiday somewhere. It's Christmas. It's Easter. You are more likely to eat chapati on those holidays than you were on a normal school day or any other day of the week.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: You get
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: And for some people, they were lucky enough probably to have it every other weekend. So you see, ah growing up for most, the average Kenyan, okay, it's such a big deal to have a meal of chapati.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah. Yes.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So yeah, it makes a lot of sense. That's why those kids were super excited. They're like, oh, wow. Maybe because actually growing up also, even right now, if you go to most schools, they give something called githeri.
Kimaru: I don't know why people call it in another place, but I can explain what githeri is for maybe our international listeners.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Githeri is a meal cooked. ah It's just boiled maize and beans. You boil them together. Yeah, it's the most basic meal.
Patrick Abure: oh Oh, Maze and Binge.
Kimaru: Yeah, yes, maize and beans, and that's it. So for most schools, that's what they serve, especially during lunch, even now, whether it's a day school or a boarding school.
Patrick Abure: Interesting.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So to get...
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: um a meal change like ah somebody's promising you chapati, I can tell you for sure.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Our school, my high school, is a very prestigious school in Kenya and a very good school actually.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: We had good meals, but I don't remember a day we had chapati.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: No, chapati is not a meal that is provided in schools in Kenya. You see, that's why the excitement, yeah? Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. And the president was like, you know, we want to provide nutritious food for our children.
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Which i also agree with.
Kimaru: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah.
Patrick Abure: So I wanted to ask you about Sakaja.
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Kimaru: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: Because Sakaja, I think, was a big influence
Patrick Abure: on setting things, basically.
Kimaru: Set everything in motion. So...
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Kimaru: ah hu
Patrick Abure: So, about Sakaja's influence, is Nairobi County about to become the Chapati City?
Kimaru: who
Patrick Abure: Oh, County.
Kimaru: Now, you know, i think at this point, Kenyans are, um they're used to promises that go unfulfilled. So this might be just a passing cloud. But if it is fulfilled, then yeah, Nairobi might be that county where chapati reigns, yeah?
Kimaru: It rains every day, it pours.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: We will have water parties and we could... Oh, not us, not all of us, the children.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: But yeah, I guess him, he was trying to kind of revamp his Dishina County initiative for children, school feeding program. yeah yeah so
Patrick Abure: yeah yeah
Kimaru: But ah how realistic it is, I'm not sure. Because honest honestly, as I said, I feel like, and I don't know, I feel like also politicians have found a way to make everything very sensational, you know?
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: Like when they're making their promises, when they're telling us what they will do, it's like, yeah, they want to leave you very excited, you know?
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: And you maybe forget your worries and start maybe even campaigning for them as early as now. But whether it will be implemented or not, we we are yet to see.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: And as I always say, time will tell. Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Absolutely. and Absolutely. Yeah.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: ah The comments on this story is wild. I love the comments.
Kimaru: Which other ones did you come across?
Patrick Abure: Someone was saying, if chapatis become a daily meal in schools,
Kimaru: Uh-huh. Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Math problems might soon sound like, if Wanjiku has 10 chapatis and Kamau eats four, how angry is Wanjiku?
Kimaru: oh her hu
Patrick Abure: Ha ha ha ha
Kimaru: Extremely angry. Because, wow, why did you eat my cha party?
Kimaru: Yeah, extremely angry, by the way. Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: well Wow, wow, wow, wow.
Patrick Abure: Oh, man. Yeah.
Kimaru: Yeah, Kenyans, I don't know. I feel like Kenyans have really been using social media, actually. Whether it's these chapati stories or it's another story from any other person.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: But Kenyans are sort of, I feel like they're really using social media in a good way lately.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: especially for advocacy, civic education, and all that.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: Yeah, like, if you look at those comments, there is a story to tell from those comments.
Patrick Abure: Absolutely.
Kimaru: If you look at them, not just surface level, but deeply, there is stories people are trying to pass across.
Patrick Abure: and Yeah.
Kimaru: You just need a little bit of wisdom to know what exactly people are trying to say and maybe to relate to
Patrick Abure: Yeah. yeah
Kimaru: what exactly are the issues in the country.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Yeah, then it's very easy need to decipher what somebody is trying to say, honestly, yeah.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Patrick Abure: Absolutely. Yeah.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: You know, I was thinking about this and i was like,
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: With all this AI coming up now, you know, a million chapatis every day sounds like a perfect job for AI.
Kimaru: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: But AI might quit over burnout.
Kimaru: they'll be like nah I give up please take me to whatever police police station I can't do this totally agree honestly that would be a lot of chapatis to generate at once if you are cooking them yeah honestly
Patrick Abure: Yeah, that's a lot of chapatis.
Kimaru: It is a lot of chapattis.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: I think it is the same.
Patrick Abure: Especially, I mean, one million a day is not much.
Kimaru: It's unnecessary.
Patrick Abure: But when you look at it from the perspective that these machines are going to be given to every school,
Patrick Abure: That's a lot of chapatis.
Kimaru: thing, wow.
Kimaru: ah any this this gepa thing wow Yeah, its it's definitely, yeah, but but I feel like now that you're talking about chapatis, I feel like it's very easy.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: I feel like politicians have also found it ah good, as I said, about things becoming very sensational. It's like it's an easy route to actually divert the conversation from like the things that matter.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah.
Kimaru: Because now all we are talking about is chapati. Maybe there's people who are thinking like, it's such a big, it's just ah such a good thing. Our children will eat chapati, but they're not focusing on the real issues.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: And of course, there's also the people who are focusing on the real issues, which is where they're using it as ah we like sati in a satirical way.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: ah But there's somebody who, somewhere who will be just excited.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: They're like, oh wow, our children will be eating chapatis and leave it at that. So it kind of also diverts from the real issues.
Patrick Abure: But but
Patrick Abure: right but I also feel like we we shouldn't overly state the issue of chapati as something that is clearly not a need.
Patrick Abure: Because I think we forget that the issue at heart is feeding.
Kimaru: is a need. yes
Patrick Abure: And that is a need.
Kimaru: it is a need
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: But now, as I said, okay, sorry, but but as I said, maybe for a normal Kenyan, really, you start thinking about, is it chapati that I really need for now?
Patrick Abure: Forget it.
Kimaru: As I said, chapati is one of the... foods I would consider a bit of a luxury for an everyday Kenyan.
Patrick Abure: yeah yeah yeah
Kimaru: Like it's not something you can eat every day, every day, every day. It will become expensive. And if even in your own home, you can't eat chapati every day, every day, every day because it's expensive, then a normal or everyday Kenyan, ah I start thinking about instead of giving me chapati, why don't you probably make something like the health insurance work for me?
Patrick Abure: yeah
Patrick Abure: yeah
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: because I cannot anticipate when I get sick or whatever, so that I can be at least covered?
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: Or why don't you probably, for example, look at maybe, as I said, a school that doesn't have a structure, build a structure in that school? Or, you know, or probably ah the cost of food that that is more, like, let's say, for example, you see posho.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: In Uganda, you guys call it posho, but in Kenya, we call it ugali.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: So why don't you make like ugali more affordable because that's what we eat on a day-to-day basis in comparison to the chapati. Like bring the coat of the ugali, the hunga down instead of, you know, providing chapatis for me.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: So that's how I would look at it. Like stop trying to give me something that I can't even have afford on a day-to-day basis.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: but try to make the things that I use on a daily more affordable.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: You know, bring down the cost of fuel so that even goods and services can get to wherever they need to go easily.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Groceries, not you know, the cost of groceries becomes a little bit affordable. Because right now, if you look at the, if you look at the whatever, what I call it?
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: The cost of things has gone up in the last two to three years. like what I could buy as groceries maybe three years ago that would take me for a whole month, for example, it's now like almost double the price, you see?
Patrick Abure: yeah. Yes.
Patrick Abure: yes
Kimaru: So for me, when I'm thinking, because I'm thinking long-term, I would rather you reduce the cost of maybe fuel or maybe the cost of fertilizer so that people can, you know, the cost of food can go down, you know, something that is more sustainable.
Kimaru: So you're giving me chapati, ah yeah personally, i at daily, it doesn't make any difference in my life.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: Make those other things that I use normally, you know, very important.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: Something like that, you know, yeah. Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: No, fair enough. Yeah. And um so so speaking of Ogali as like, you know, national dish, is Chapati secretly replacing Ogali
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: yeah i
Patrick Abure: as a new national dish?
Kimaru: and I don't think so. I feel like chapati, it's just bars. even i think they're going to ruin the chapati thing for us. Why make them so available? We want them to be a luxury.
Kimaru: So that when we are having them, we we enjoy. You feel like in paradise. you know no But honestly, the way I know Kenyans, I don't think...
Kimaru: chapatis can replace ugali ugali is such a staple honestly chapati cannot outcompete ugali
Patrick Abure: Ryan.
Kimaru: and
Patrick Abure: I love Ogali.
Kimaru: yeah ugali is good oh ugali is good sana kumbo unazua yes it is oh yeah ugali any day any time you know
Patrick Abure: Ogali ni tamu sama. Tamu sana.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Interesting. Yeah.
Kimaru: who
Patrick Abure: But it's pretty, don't know, interesting, this is story. Yeah. Sometimes I feel like when I am reading the comments, I love reading the comments.
Kimaru: I know comments are always like the it.
Patrick Abure: When I am reading.
Kimaru: If you see a video that is funny, go to the comments. The comments are people say, you are like, huh?
Patrick Abure: Yes. Yeah. People are usually wild in there.
Kimaru: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah.
Patrick Abure: oh
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Patrick Abure: I feel like at this rate, um if actually the one million chapati thing becomes real, because I saw the president serving chapatis.
Kimaru: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Kimaru: I know.
Patrick Abure: Was it yesterday or something like that?
Kimaru: It's like, actually, he went to torture parties. Yes. Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Kimaru: wow
Patrick Abure: I feel we are going to get to a point where ah Kenya is going to be celebrating Chapati Day every year.
Kimaru: ah huh
Patrick Abure: Ha ha ha ha.
Kimaru: oh yeah at this pace yes we might just have a national holiday for chapatis you're like yeah this is a designated day yes all of you should just stay at home you're eating chapatis yeah we shall see who cooks them better and maybe it might even at this point it might even be introduced in the curriculum you know as something that people need to study how to make you know
Patrick Abure: Ha
Patrick Abure: ha ha. Ha ha ha.
Kimaru: Specific, not just as a home science. No, no, no, no, no. Just chapati making as a course.
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Kimaru: Yes.
Patrick Abure: Yes. No, but i i think it's important. Now, satire aside, I think it is good to have such a course.
Kimaru: Ah. Ah.
Patrick Abure: I would take it. I really want to learn how to make chapati.
Kimaru: Ah.
Patrick Abure: So I genuinely would enroll for such a course.
Kimaru: Talk to me, I'll teach you. Talk to me, i'm I'm good at this chapati making business. I wonder even why the government didn't consider giving me that contract instead of looking for like a machine.
Kimaru: I can spin those things really fast. Even my friends are always saying, hey, Kimaru is the best chapati maker. She cooks them so fast. There's one, actually, I'm not even bragging. There's one ah called Honey.
Patrick Abure: Okay.
Kimaru: So Honey came to my place some time back and then she was like, you know, I don't, um like the way you cook chapatis, it's very impressive. Because for me, to cook chapatis in my house, I have to plan a whole week in advance.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: And it takes me so long to actually cook them.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. yeah
Kimaru: Because now she was seated at my house, she's like, oh, how can I help you? was like, no, relax, I'll make them for you. So you see, that's what I'm saying. The government should have considered me, you know, they should have given me this opportunity and I would have impressed.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Patrick Abure: Right. Right. I know, see. Because the the government has given that job to to to machines, it's why you're now angry.
Kimaru: I know. wouldn't you be angry? Like, I can make the best chapatis out here.
Patrick Abure: I won't.
Kimaru: Why are they bypassing my skill, you know?
Patrick Abure: Not just you, very many others that have the skills like you.
Kimaru: and Exactly. Yes, we are so many. And they have refused to employ us. And now I don't know, they expect us to do what? We sit somewhere and wait for the machine to make it?
Kimaru: Oh, speaking of the machine, do you know Kenyans have named it El Chapo?
Kimaru: Because chapati, the abbreviation for chapati in Kenya is chapo. So they are calling it El Chapo.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Like the Mexican kind whatever drug dealer, the cartel owner. Yeah, the machine is called El Chapo. So we are actually waiting for El Chapo to arrive in Kenya and then the 1 million chapatis can be spinned, you know?
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. I can't wait to come to Kenya and eat that.
Kimaru: Yeah. Yeah.
Kimaru: I know, right? I think the government has really looked and they're like, wow, we need to impress foreigners like Patrick.
Patrick Abure: yes
Kimaru: And we want them, like at the airport, to be like, oh, Karibu, chapati, chapati.
Kimaru: It's like we will be meeting you at the airport and we are like, we are holding bells and bells of chapatis and dancing like, yeah, chapati, karibu chapati, Kenya hakuna matata, and you know, we give you chapatis.
Kimaru: The only thing you need to do is you need to come with your stew.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Patrick Abure: oh man
Kimaru: Yes, you know, chapati can actually really mess you. So you need to come with your stew just in case or a drink, you know.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah, thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind.
Kimaru: Yes, please.
Kimaru: Please, yes, yes, Tafadhali. Yeah. But yeah, we just be ready for anything.
Patrick Abure: Yes. Yes.
Kimaru: And especially chapatis will rain.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: They'll rain for sure. Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yes, I'm very sure, yeah. bet at this rate, we are definitely going to... When I am coming to your wedding, I'm very sure...
Kimaru: yeah
Kimaru: There'll be chapatis, right? Don't
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: worry. Especially if the government will be the one supplying them, you know for sure it ah you know they won't fail you.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Yeah. There will be chapatis.
Patrick Abure: I'm very sure.
Kimaru: Something to look forward to.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. And I know um Kenyan weddings might start including vows.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Vows like
Patrick Abure: I promise to love, cherish, and share my chapatis.
Kimaru: I swear, at this point, yeah, that should be like one of those very intimate things that you actually share with your loved one. So yeah, it makes a lot of sense.
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Kimaru: Yes, honestly, at this point, yeah, I agree with you.
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: To love and to hold, we shall never allow any chapati to come between us, okay?
Patrick Abure: We shall share it. Here it is. Kimaru, take it.
Kimaru: Oh, yeah.
Patrick Abure: man. Yeah.
Kimaru: Even the tiniest bit of chapati that we will have in the house, we shall make sure that we actually share it, you know?
Patrick Abure: me
Kimaru: Yeah. Honestly, at this rate, yeah, they will become a staple. Actually, you had asked if they I think they'll become a staple. If you you put it like that, chapati will become a staple for sure.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: a
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Very true.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. But chapatis are good.
Kimaru: you
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Chapatis are good.
Kimaru: Oh, very good.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah. I think, by the way, I wanted to ask you this funny question.
Kimaru: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: ah Would do you vote for, because you guys have an election coming up in 2027, right?
Kimaru: yeah a
Patrick Abure: Yeah. So would you vote for a president based on their chapati budget?
Kimaru: If it pleases the masses, if it pleases the masses, you know, whom's the mine? Whom's the mine?
Patrick Abure: Who knows? Maybe the the next president is going to say, you know what?
Kimaru: yeah
Patrick Abure: Let's increase it from 1 million. Let it go to 5 or 10.
Kimaru: To two, honestly, if it pleases the masses, I don't think I will be against it, you know?
Patrick Abure: man. Yeah.
Patrick Abure: oh then yeah
Kimaru: oh my god i think kenyans we are not are serious and unserious at the same time honestly yeah who
Patrick Abure: No, but I think it's it's a pretty interesting thing. Yeah. I think the conversations that this story has sparked are very useful conversations.
Kimaru: very extremely actually yeah that's very true yeah
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Totally.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. So I wanted to, as we wrap up, I wanted to ask you, chapati with beans and chapati with the tea.
Kimaru: and
Kimaru: who who who
Patrick Abure: Which one would you choose?
Kimaru: Chapati with beans.
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Kimaru: Yes.
Patrick Abure: And chapati with the tea.
Kimaru: Chapati with tea.
Patrick Abure: Which one would you choose?
Kimaru: So I'll go for chapati with beans if I'm having like a dinner or something.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: And then in the morning, quick breakfast, chapati with the tea.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: If you are trying to grab like a quick breakfast, yes, chapati with the tea.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: Yes, for sure. he
Patrick Abure: Yeah. I would go with the chapati with the beans too.
Kimaru: I know. It's usually, it slaps.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: It very good.
Patrick Abure: Yeah, I had a lot of it in school.
Kimaru: ah Oh, wow.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Huh. Interesting. Your school used to cook you chapati?
Patrick Abure: Uganda has a lot of chapati. You guys forget. We produce probably more than one million chapatis a day.
Kimaru: yeah
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Kimaru: Oh, I swear, yes. That one I agree. Because the last time I was in Uganda, oh, they'd be making Rolex everywhere. So chapati, chapati, chapati, chapati.
Patrick Abure: Yes. Yes.
Kimaru: Yeah. so So for them, definitely their budget will be way bigger than the Kenyan budget, you know?
Patrick Abure: Oh, no. The difference is the chapati in Uganda is not produced or sponsored by the government.
Kimaru: Uh-huh.
Kimaru: or right now you already have like a lot of chapati sponsored by individuals if the government was to step in ah you'll have to you would be supplying Kenyans you would be our machine
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. I guess the... Yes. Exactly. would become your suppliers.
Kimaru: the government should have thought of Uganda there is always chapati everywhere on the streets you know they should have thought about that yeah
Patrick Abure: Yes. Yeah. Very delicious chapati, by the way.
Kimaru: That's true, that's very true.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. yeah I don't know what you think, but in my opinion, Uganda makes the best chapatis.
Kimaru: o No, but I think it's true, especially if they do they make it the Rolex way, then e it's good, why lie?
Patrick Abure: It's so good. It's so tasty.
Kimaru: It to me is good. Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah. You can eat a lot of them and still feel like you haven't had any.
Kimaru: her yeah
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: I think they found a fancy way of, you know, eating it. Like, you know, with the Rolex thing, the way it is, it makes it even more delicious anyway.
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Kimaru: So, yeah, maybe we can borrow a leaf from Ugandans.
Patrick Abure: Yes.
Kimaru: So you can imagine if the Kenyan government, you know, let's not talk about this in this podcast.
Patrick Abure: So the next time... ahha
Kimaru: Imagine if the government had ah about the Rolex. Now, because the last time I checked, the Rolex used to have eggs, right?
Patrick Abure: Yes, yes.
Kimaru: So you can imagine we need a budget for eggs, apart from the budget for Japanese eggs.
Patrick Abure: No, but you guys are already taking it to a higher level. You guys, ah you you have promoted your parties from having eggs to having meat.
Patrick Abure: That was what these kids were asking for.
Kimaru: it oh they said they want with nyama so you know see our budget is it's good they bypass the rolex yeah
Patrick Abure: Anataka nyama, wanataka nyama. Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: I'm telling you. i don't know how to call that one with the meat. Yeah.
Kimaru: hey that one definitely is on its own level it's like in its own class
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: It has graduated, it has gone through a master's class, PhD, and it's an expert now, yeah?
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Totally.
Kimaru: Oh yeah, mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Okay, wow.
Patrick Abure: Wow.
Kimaru: Chapati for the win.
Patrick Abure: So...
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Oh, yeah. I mean, we are in an agreement, though, that Uganda makes the best chapatis.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm. I'd let people let us know. Ugandans and Kenyans, please let us know who makes better chapatis. Let us know in our comment sections, you know, so that we can, you know, gauge.
Kimaru: I don't want to be the one saying which one is which, you know. Yeah, I'll leave it to the people to decide.
Patrick Abure: Okay, but I know Ugandans are going to win.
Kimaru: You think so?
Patrick Abure: I have so much faith.
Kimaru: You think so?
Patrick Abure: yes
Kimaru: Oh my God. Oh my God. Okay. oh I didn't see nothing. yeah
Patrick Abure: i have so much faith
Kimaru: In Uganda.
Patrick Abure: oh
Kimaru: Ugandans, you have been represented. I'll let the Kenyans decide. and oh yeah.
Patrick Abure: Oh, man. Yeah.
Kimaru: Kenyans will fight their own battles in the comment section.
Patrick Abure: and
Patrick Abure: Right, right.
Kimaru: who
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah, I wanted to ask you this. um So, would you rather eat chapatis for a year or listen to political promises for five minutes?
Kimaru: let me eat chapati.
Patrick Abure: For a year?
Kimaru: like
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Every day, every day.
Patrick Abure: Yeah, than just five minutes of listening to politics.
Kimaru: Oh, five minutes of listening to false promises.
Patrick Abure: No, no, no, political promises, yes. It doesn't matter whether they are false or not.
Kimaru: Just five.
Patrick Abure: Yeah.
Kimaru: Oh, because I'm not such a big fan of chapati, yeah, I'll take the five minutes if it's just five minutes.
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: I can endure the excruciating... false promises being made over and over and over again, you know? But eating chapati for year would be such a torture for me because I can't stand chapatis.
Kimaru: That, you know, yeah, but I know there's somebody who would choose the chapatis, but for me, I'm not such a big fan, so yeah.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: Mm-hmm.
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. um So what are your final thoughts?
Kimaru: ah My final thoughts, I feel like, um for me, I think I'm proud of Kenyans and how they have been reacting to these stories and how ah right now whether just being a keyboard warrior you're trying to hold maybe your member of parliament accountable your president accountable yeah whoever you are holding accountable i feel like ah these are conversations we definitely need to keep having because we need to educate i feel like these conversations are important because that's how you you you are doing civic education through satire
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: and bringing to attention like the issues that affect us on a day-to-day basis okay so uh i i think we need to have more of these conversations and we need to make sure apart from having these conversations online we can bring the conversations to the people because i feel for on a personal level if you're promising me
Patrick Abure: yeah
Patrick Abure: yeah
Kimaru: chapatis every day but you're and maybe you're providing it for me but you're not maybe lowering the cost of living for me it doesn't necessarily make such a big difference like the things that matter for me are the things would want maybe people in power to address right now yeah because there is more important and pressing issues
Patrick Abure: Mm-hmm.
Kimaru: that we need to to focus on. And I would say if it was not false or what happened last year from I think around June, we wouldn't even have had these conversations by the way.
Kimaru: I think from last year, there's like a revolution that happened with the protest and all that, which is why we are here right now looking at chapati, not just as chapati. We are looking at chapati as a way to have a conversation because why are you promising us chapati when you could be building a school or you could making a road accessible or you could do one, two, three, you know, whatever it is you need to do.
Patrick Abure: Right.
Kimaru: So, yeah, so I'm really proud of how far we have come in the context of speaking up and trying to hold like our leaders accountable and have these conversations on issues that affect us on a day-to-day basis. Yeah.
Kimaru: Yeah.
Patrick Abure: Thank you. um Listeners and our viewers, please do share your own funny stories to do with this chapati story that is trending online.
Kimaru: yes let us know your thoughts
Patrick Abure: Yeah. Yeah. And also, yes. And also remember, behind every unrealistic promise is probably ah very hungry politician.
Kimaru: who
Kimaru: wow I couldn't have put it any better honestly wow
Patrick Abure: If you liked this episode, follow us on all social video platforms at the Spark It Podcast. See you next time on the Spark It Podcast.
Kimaru: It's back to the podcast.
Patrick Abure: Bye-bye.
Kimaru: Bye.
