Kenya’s unsuccessful digital literacy tablets are on Uganda’s black market.

Irate Kenyans have resorted to social media to express their outrage over claims that government tablets intended for grade one students are being sold in Uganda’s black market.

On the ‘Uganda 2’ Facebook group, where Ugandans buy and sell gadgets and autos, a user identifying himself as Emmanuel Watile and located in Kampala set a price of $79 for each tablet, which he claims has “64GB storage operating on Windows 10” and is compatible with “all laptop plugins.” “I need money now…”

Watile, who represents himself on Facebook as a salesperson at BF Suma Africa and Radissons Beauty Products, removed the post after a day, but Kenyans continued to query him about the source of his goods.

The majority of them were upset that their children had not benefited from the tablet initiative, despite the fact that millions of dollars in taxpayer money had been spent to acquire them.

Others questioned why the directorate of criminal investigations never arrested the individuals responsible for the selling of government property.

The pills were selling for as little as $35 each, but government spokesman Cyrus Oguna told a local news site that the state was unaware of the crime but promised an inquiry. “We are unaware of the situation until it was brought to our notice.”

Thugs went into four elementary schools in Bungoma, a western county bordering Uganda, in 2016 and took the iPads. Only 71 of them were found at the border last year.

Millions of students’ hopes were dashed when the initiative failed.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta ran on a platform of digital literacy in 2013, pledging to provide laptop computers to all elementary schools in the nation for grade one students.

After assuming the presidency, his administration recognized the offer was unrealistic and instead committed to purchasing the student’s iPads for $144 million.

From 2016, 600,000 units were to be distributed to students each year, however, the project was canceled in 2019 and the funds were reallocated to the development of computer laboratories before all schools received the devices.

The Kenyan government neglected the concerns of theft, corruption, poor penetration of power, and difficulty in educating teachers with digital skills before initiating the initiative in 2013. Millions of students’ hopes were dashed as a result of these obstacles.

With elections coming up next month, this serves as a reminder of the government’s myriad controversies.