Hundreds of Kenyans flocked to Naivas Supermarkets on Thursday morning after it announced a price reduction on maize flour.
In a video that has since gone viral, the buyers scrambled for the commodity that was retailing at Sh100 for a 2kg packet down from Sh230.
Shoppers were seen standing in long queues, each struggling to take as many packets as they could.
For some maize brands, there was nothing on the shelves as people had taken the stock while for others, only a few packets were remaining.
On Thursday morning, at Naivas supermarkets in Nairobi, a 2kg maize flour morning retailed at Sh100 but at Carrefour, it was retailing at Sh197 and at Quick Mart Supermarket, the prices ranged between Sh210 and Sh230 depending on the brand.
On Wednesday, President Uhuru in his announcement at State House directed that new unga prices will take effect immediately.
"This programme of a subsidy of approximately Sh105 per 2kg pack of maize meal is meant to lower the cost of living for vulnerable households as we look for a sustainable solution to the recurrent rising prices of unga every election," Uhuru said.
He said the subsidy followed a deal brokered between the government and maize millers registered with the Agricultural food authority after days of consultations.
Maize flour prices had remained above Sh200 until Wednesday even after the government announced the subsidy on Monday for the product to retail at Sh100.
