Kenyans Call For KFC Boycott After They Run Out Of French Fries

Furious Kenyans have called for a boycott of the US fast-food chain KFC after they ran out of French fries and then let it slip that they do not source locally-produced potatoes.

KFC Kenya announced on Twitter on 3rd January: “Fam it was truly a Furaha December. Mlikula sherehe with your KFC faves. Ya’ll loved our chips a little too much, and we’ve run out.

“Sorry! Our team is working hard to resolve the issue. In the meantime here are some SWAP options for combo meals if you are craving our Kuku.”

KFC Kenya Twitter post saying they’ve run out of chips. (Newsflash)

Fast-food rivals Burger King took full advantage of the shortage, tweeting: “We have enough fries for everyone!”

KFC regional boss Jacques Theunissen explained that “it has to do with delays in shipping lines due to the Covid situation”, adding that they hope to receive a shipment of more potatoes this week.

According to local reports, KFC Kenya source their spuds from Egypt, one of the world’s largest producers.

Twitter user post about KFC potato issue. (Newsflash)

However, Kenyan netizens were outraged that the KFC boss admitted to importing their potatoes rather than buying them from local producers, with many calling for a boycott of the restaurant chain as the hashtag ‘Boycott KFC’ started trending on Twitter.

Theunissen said: “All suppliers need to go through the global quality assurance approval process and we cannot bypass that even if we run out to ensure that our food is safe for consumption by our customers.”

However, on 4th January, KFC Kenya announced that they had taken steps into sourcing spuds from Kenyan farmers, pointing out that they were already doing so for products such as vegetables, flour, poultry, and ice cream.

Twitter user post about KFC potato issue. (Newsflash)

KFC have 35 outlets in East Africa and were launched in Kenya in 2011.