Saboti Constituency Member of Parliament, Caleb Amisi, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, slammed Nairobi Governor, Johnson Sakaja, for requesting President William Ruto to boost his Dishi na County programme by purchasing a machine that can make one million chapatis daily.
In a statement shared on X, the vocal lawmaker blasted the city governor for making substandard requests, yet Nairobi needed more than just chapatis.
Amisi opined that Sakaja could have asked for a proper train network, overpass roads, and proper water connection for the city residents, but instead he focused on chapatis.
While reprimanding the governor, he also faulted the electorate, who would line up and cheer him on and go on to vote him in despite making such requests.
“A governor of the biggest regional capital city, whose GDP is more or equal to about 15 African countries, boasts of chapatis as his main economic activity and legacy project.
“He even requests the head of state to forget underground speed train system,over pass roads around the city,water points across residences, but instead to buy him a brand new monstrous gigantic chapati making machine to help him make 1,000,000 chapatis per minute;and the voters and citizens still line up the streets to cheer him for such a revolutionary idea since Vasco da Gama traversed the cape of Good hope . Tell me if these are not signs of the end of time,” Amisi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Other Kenyans on various social media platforms raised mixed reactions to Sakaja’s request for the machine making one million chapati’s a day. Others defended the request, others generated memes, while others criticised him.
Ruto to honour request
Speaking at St. Teresa Primary School in Mathare, Sakaja noted that it would be challenging to prepare chapatis for over 300,000 pupils across the city.
He thus implored the head of state to provide a chapati-making machine.
“Watoto wangu mnapatanga ndizi kila siku? (My children, do you get bananas every day)” Sakaja asked to which the students enthusiastically replied, saying, “Yes.”
“Niongeze nini? (What should I add?)” Sakaja continued, to which the pupils replied saying; “Chapati.”
“Mnajua hio chapati… watoto 300,000 wanalishwa Nairobi, ntaomba rais anisaidie na machine ya kutengeza chapo,” Sakaja added.
Ruto immediately vowed to honour Sakaja’s request, noting that he will ensure that the program receives a chapati-making machine, which he says will produce 1 million chapatis daily, once he is aware of where to purchase them.
“Governor ameniuliza ya kwamba tuongeze chapati katika dishi ya Nairobi na ninunue machine ya kutengeza chapo, na nimekubali kua nitamnunulia machine ya kutengeza chapo, sasa gavana tafuta mahali pa kununua machine ya kutengeza chapo milioni moja, (The governor has asked that we add chapati in the Dishi ya Nairobi initiative, I have agreed to purchase the machine, it is now the work of the governor to locate a shop we can purchase them from, do that we can be able to make one million chapatis)” Ruto said amid cheers from the pupils.
Chapati-making machines, also called roti makers, are billed as a simple means of making the dish in industrial quantities by feeding them with the ingredients.
They produce at least 2,000 chapatis per hour.
