At the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Summit in Nairobi on October 9, President William Ruto proposed introducing domesticated water buffaloes and improved camel breeds to help alleviate Kenya’s dairy shortage.

The proposal instantly sparked a wave of TikTok and Facebook skits that depict “obedient Kenyans” attempting to milk buffaloes, often fleeing from charging animals for comic effect.

Creators set the videos to Bob Marley’s “Buffalo Soldier” and imagined supermarket shelves stocked with fictitious “Nyati Fresh Milk,” adding to the viral humor.

The jokes hinge on a factual distinction: the Indian water buffalo Ruto referenced is a domesticated, gentle breed, unlike the aggressive Cape buffalo that roams Kenya’s wildlife parks.

Behind the humor lies a genuine dairy crunch, with the Kenya Dairy Board reporting formal milk deliveries falling from 84.4 million litres in June to 75 million litres by August, a decline linked to prolonged drought conditions.

Retail prices have risen accordingly, with a litre of milk now costing around KSh 85 in many Nairobi estates, tightening household budgets.

Critics noted the irony that the government had publicly celebrated Kenya’s status as Africa’s largest milk producer a day before the summit, shortly before Ruto’s buffalo milk suggestion.