Authorities in a Kenyan town known for its athletics prowess rushed to remove statues of runners on Wednesday night that some people had deemed shoddy, on the eve of an event to confer city status on the municipality.
The Rift Valley town of Eldoret, home to many great runners, had earlier this week put up a number of thematic pieces of art to showcase its agricultural and sports heritage. The sculptures included statues of athletes and one of a maize cob next to a wheat stalk.
Photos of the artworks attracted uproar on social media, as Kenyans poked fun at them and criticised the town’s administration and the sculptors.
One of the statues that faced ridicule depicted a woman running while holding a miniature Kenyan flag in her left hand. Social media users were quick to pour scorn on the statue’s unrecognisable face and exaggerated features.
“Eldoret City launch. Who is this? This is a violation,” wrote one X user, Eve Maina.
“This is shoddy and lousy to say the least. We can do better than this,” said X user Nyapara Ndege.
Another user, Kevin J. Muringih, said that the town “must have subcontracted the same guy” who did a bronze bust sculpture of Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017 that also drew ridicule.
Another Eldoret sculpture, which shows a male athlete with similarly overstated features, has also been the butt of Kenyans’ jokes on social media.
After the criticism, authorities in Uasin Gishu county removed the statues at night.
On Thursday, Eldoret was conferred city status at a ceremony presided by President William Ruto at Eldoret sports club.
On the same day, the president honoured Kenyan medalists from the Paris Olympics at an event at Eldoret state lodge.
The athletes later had an open-car parade, attracting cheers from thousands of residents who lined the city’s streets to celebrate them.
Kenya is renowned for its dominance in running, boasting some of the world’s greatest athletes, including former world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge and Faith Kipyegon, the current world record-holder for the 1,500 metres and the mile.
With four gold, two silver and five bronze medals, the east African country was the highest-ranked African nation at the Paris Olympics, and 17th overall.
