Friday, October 6, 2023 – President William Ruto’s spin doctor, Dennis Itumbi, landed himself in deep trouble with Kenyans after suggesting that the Kenya shilling was gaining value against the United States Dollar (USD).
Itumbi shared a screenshot, reportedly from Google, showing that one US dollar was exchanged for Sh144.94 on October 6, 2023.
However, hawk-eyed ‘Twitter DCIs’ put him on the defensive over the authenticity of the photo.
“Well…” said Dennis Itumbi, implying the government had finally kept its promise to begin lowering the exchange rate value against the dollar.
Itumbi’s message on X (formerly Twitter) led to varied reactions from Kenyans, considering that the real exchange rate between the Kenyan shilling and the dollar was Sh148.80.
“Kwani pale State House wako na google yao? Ama hii ni exchange rate ya Ruiru? (Does State House have its own Google? Or is this the exchange rate in Ruiru?) You must have photoshopped yours,” said Pauline Njoroge.
“Google is not a Forex Bureau to buy and sell dollars, Dennis. You can do better than this!” added Muhammad Onyango.
“Yamune. Which Google did you use?” asked Githii.
“The shilling is weakening against the dollar each day! Denno don’t force things,” added Felix Orina.
In April, President William Ruto promised the dollar exchange rate in Kenya would come down ‘in a very phenomenal way’ within a ‘month or so’ and it would exchange at below Sh120, maybe Sh115.
But six months later, the shilling has continued to lose its value against the dollar at an alarming rate.
The Kenya shilling has lost approximately 25% of its value to the American dollar in the past year.
It has also lost 20% of its value to the Ugandan and Tanzanian shillings since Ruto came to power.
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