A five-second video showing a shoe being hurled at President William Ruto during a visit to Migori has ignited a storm of memes, parodies, and witty puns across social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. In the viral clip, the president visibly flinches as a dusty shoe cuts through the air mid-speech, momentarily disrupting the event. Within minutes, Kenyans had transformed the incident into a national meme-fest, blending humour and political satire in typical Kenyan fashion.
The shoe attack quickly gave birth to the trending phrase ‘Zakayo Shoe-ka!’, riffing off Ruto’s biblical nickname “Zakayo.” Social media users jumped on the moment with boundless creativity. User Nyandia Gachago led the charge with clever puns like, “Migori people ni watu wa Shoe-pavu sana!” and “Zakayo lazima ashoe-ke!” Others joined in with remarks such as “Shoe-d we care? No, we shoe-dint!” and “Kwa uyo jamaa wa Migori, pokea shoe-krani zetu!”
Beyond the wordplay, memes featuring photoshopped images of Ruto DJ-ing or disappearing with one shoe such as the viral skit by comedian Njugush captivated thousands. His parody amassed over 340,000 views overnight.
The moment even revived older content. A tweet from November 2023 by user @Ninanyce suggesting someone throw a muddy shoe at Ruto resurfaced and went viral. Many dubbed her a “Prophetess” for her eerily accurate prediction. X user Book Ten quipped, “Every tweet has a maturity date.”
Activist Hanifa Adan addressed criticism of the public’s celebratory reaction: “Take note of everything they’re telling us not to celebrate, it’s exactly what we will celebrate.” In another tweet, she slammed state violence and the hypocrisy of those condemning citizen defiance.
The incident may have been chaotic, but the public’s response reaffirmed a truth: in Kenya, no political moment however serious is safe from humour, resistance, and the power of a meme.
