Is Kanye Trying to Turn the President of Uganda Into a Yeezy Stan?
“I thank Kanye for the gift of white sneakers,” tweeted Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni.
Photo courtesy of the Uganda Tourism Board.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian visited the East African nation of Uganda this week to meet with president Yoweri Museveni; and don't worry, they didn't show up empty-handed. The couple presented Museveni with—what else?—a pair of white Yeezys, which they hand-signed. The leader responded via Twitter to thank Kanye for “the gift of white sneakers,” which sort of sounds like a thank you note your mom would force you to write after your birthday party.
Museveni returned the favor by presenting Kanye and Kim with the Ugandan names of “Kanyesigye” and “Kemigisha,” Reuters reports. Kim's Ugandan name, Kemigisha, means “the one with blessings from God,” which seems fitting, given that Kim simply loves to tweet about being #blessed. Kanye’s goodwill tour of sneakerhead ambassadorship didn't stop with Museveni—after meeting with the leader, he and Kim flew to Masulita, Uganda to hand out Yeezy BOOST 350 V2 sneakers to local children, TMZ reports.
Kanye also brought Yeezys to the White House as gifts for Donald Trump and his staffers, potentially in violation of ethics codes governing gift restrictions for White House personnel (oops). Is Kanye lobbying to make Yeezy the official sneaker of foreign and domestic politics or is he just not that creative a gift-giver? Who knows, maybe, in these troubled times, a fresh pair of virgin-soled white Yeezys is just the thing to bring nations together.