On November 21, 2018, a lighthearted tweet about a birthday surprise for a Formula 1 fan quickly turned into a wider Kenyan conversation about the kinds of gifts men say they usually receive.
The discussion began after Sunshine Chi, using the handle @sunshinechi1, said she would take her husband to Abu Dhabi to watch the Formula 1 race as a present for his 30th birthday. In her post, she said her husband was a big @F1 supporter and had been talking about the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since they met.
That post triggered a wave of responses from Kenyan men on social media, many of them joking that men are often handed what they consider underwhelming birthday gifts. Bruce, posting as @ngwata_, summed up the mood with a prayer asking to be spared “birthday socks, belts and cakes in nightclubs.”
Lord, it is us again Kenyan men, we see what you are doing for others, deliver us from birthday socks, belts and cakes in nightclubs too. Amen.? https://t.co/hvKywVaV29 — Bruce?? (@ngwata_) November 21, 2018
Other users joined in with their own complaints and jokes. Tony K. (@TonyKeyMoney) mocked the idea of receiving a cake in a nightclub while still being expected to spend on a partner’s friends, and Mute (@_25fro) said he once got playing cards as a gift.
1KG Cakes in nightclubs and you still buy drinks for her friends and you’re supposed to reciprocate with a trip to Zanzibar.? — Tony K. (@TonyKeyMoney) November 21, 2018
??I got playing cards on mine — Mute (@_25fro) November 21, 2018
Amal Abdul (@AmalMAbdul) and Mjengo gal (@6_size) also weighed in with meme-style reactions, while one user joked that men were still waiting for Governor Mutua to finish F1 racing tracks so they could take their partners there instead.
pic.twitter.com/QCr8GresDZ — Amal Abdul (@AmalMAbdul) November 21, 2018
we are waiting for governor Mutua to complete the F1 racing tracks we take our men there priss. Blame the governor — Mjengo gal (@6_size) November 21, 2018
Chris (@Ngaruthi) later posted a blunt list of items he said should not count as gifts, including socks, ties, wallets, shirts, cakes, sex and alcohol.
The following are not gifts Socks Tie Wallet Shirt Cake Sex Alcohol? — Chris (@Ngaruthi) November 21, 2018
The exchange showed how quickly a single post can snowball into a broader KOT debate, with many users turning the thread into a running joke about gift expectations, romance and the pressure to do better than the usual socks-and-cake routine.
