Rwandese: How Kenya Tasted Rare Defeat On X (Twitter)

Kenyans On Twitter (KOT) (now X) are rarely known for losing international battles on the social media platform. However, on Tuesday, October 24, they were powerless to stop one netizen from Rwanda.

Since morning, Kenyans and Rwandese have been embroiled in a war of words after a Rwandese netizen exposed the soft underbelly that proved too powerful for KOX to respond.

It all started when popular content creator Stephanie Mulinge, alias Stephu, opened up on Sunday, October 22 regarding her not-so-pleasing experience about visiting Rwanda.

According to her, she was unhappy regarding the negative energy and constant sadness among Rwandese citizens.

Screenshot of Rwandese netizen's response to Kenyan on X on October 24, 2023. /X

"Been in Rwanda this weekend and I just couldn’t help but notice how sad these people are. Like the energy is just off from everyone," she wrote.

However, Brendah Kalinda, a Rwandese communications expert, was irked by Mulinge's comments and hit her where it truly hurts, with a reminder about Kenya's current and high cost of living.

"I was going to insult you but you’re Kenyan so I’ll let your government continue punishing you," she responded.

I was going to insult you but you’re Kenyan so I’ll let your government continue punishing you. https://t.co/1uWEvP68On — Kalinda Brendah (@KalindaBrendah) October 24, 2023

Kalinda's post went viral within hours, reposted by over 4,200 users and liked by over 7,800. More than 1,520 users responded to the post, viewed more than 982,200 times with hilarious reactions showing how they were beaten at their own game for the first time in a while.

"A Rwandese Lady just clapped back at the entire Nation and I do not see Rwanda Vs Kenya anywhere because nothing hurts more than the truth.

"You can even create a parody account and roast your Nation in support. We have lost all the respect we had. Make Kenya Great Again (MKGA)," Bravin Yuri responded.

"Hiyo vita ya Rwanda (the war against Rwanda) we’ll let them win because of their shawrries (women) not because they are better than us," TV47 anchor Flora Limukii weighed in.

Kenya's high cost of living has since been made worse with revelations that the Kenyan shilling plunged to a historic low of 150 against the U.S. dollar, piling pressure on the country’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves and making imports expensive amid rising inflation.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) placed the local unit to the dollar at Ksh149.94 (rounded to Ksh150) on Monday, a 24 per cent decline year-to-date.

Central Bank of Kenya Governor Kamau Thugge on Tuesday, while being grilled by Parliament over the unprecedented depreciation of the shilling against the dollar, cited several issues but insisted that demand for the dollar has forced the devaluation of the Kenyan shilling.

“There is an excess demand for dollars. In August 2023, the supply exceeded the demand, and this is one of the structural issues to give a larger supply of dollars over time. In June -September, there was a slowdown in depreciation because of this increased supply," he told the Parliamentary Finance and National Planning Committee.

In Rwanda, figures released in September by the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR), showed that the Rwandan franc (FRW) depreciated by 8.8 per cent against the dollar in the first six months of 2023 fuelling inflationary pressures as import prices globally surged, the highest ever recorded over the last decade.

Rwanda's cost of living doesn't also make for good reading. On October 3, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) announced an increase in the prices of petrol and diesel, adding to the already challenging cost of living in the country.

The new prices which took effect on October 4, indicate that pump prices for petrol increased to Rwf 1,822 per litre (Ksh220.88) up from Rwf 1,639 (Ksh198.69) while diesel increased from Rwf 1,492 (Ksh180.87) per litre to Rwf 1,662 (Ksh201.48).

Rwanda's fuel prices however differ from those in Kenya, with Super Petrol and Diesel retailing currently at Ksh217.36 and Ksh205.47 respectively, according to the the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) on Saturday, October 14