Eldoret City Municipality has addressed the controversy surrounding several statues that sparked a social media uproar due to their poor craftsmanship.
The city’s management clarified that the sculptures, including a widely criticized statue of a female athlete, were donations from artists and not commissioned works.
The controversy erupted on Wednesday, August 14, when a photo of a statue depicting a female athlete holding a Kenyan flag went viral.
The statue, positioned along one of Eldoret’s main streets, drew criticism for its disproportionate features and subpar quality.
The backlash was so intense that some of the statues were removed from public view shortly after.
In response to the public outcry, Eldoret City Manager Tito Koiyet expressed disappointment with the final product.
Koiyet revealed that the statues were donated by artists who were hoping to gain exposure and build their brands through the municipality’s initiative.
“Eventually, when they were unveiled, we were all extremely disappointed, and they were doing it for free, by the way, in exchange for a bit of branding for their businesses. But it didn’t quite capture the imagination we had,” Koiyet stated.
He further admitted that the lack of proper supervision during the creation of the statues contributed to the unsatisfactory results.
“We all got so busy that there doesn’t seem to be much supervision on the preparation of those monuments. You know, in the workshops of those people who had offered to do the job for us,” he explained.
Following the backlash, Eldoret City officials removed some of the statues from the streets, acknowledging that they had not met the public’s expectations.
