As the world mourns the death of Pope Francis and the Catholic Church prepares to elect a new pontiff, Kenyans online have found a rather unorthodox way to cope.

Memes filled with laughter, and a dash of political satire have flooded social media.

In a bizarre yet hilariously Kenyan twist, social media has erupted with images of none other than Raila Odinga, fondly known as Baba, decked out in full papal attire. 

From digitally altered photos of the veteran politician in a white cassock and zucchetto, to exaggerated captions like “Raila for Pope!”, the internet was flooded with side-splitting content that only Kenyans could deliver.

With typical flair, Kenyans transformed a moment of global mourning into an outlet for humour. 

One viral post depicted Raila clutching a crucifix with heavenly seriousness, while others went full satire mode. 

Twitter user @SamMasika_ quipped, “He can do well to bring peace among the Catholics and unite them.” 

@CFClicks mocked Raila’s infamous electoral petitions with the biting line: “He will lose and start demanding nusu sacramenti.”

Kurgat George chimed in with a literary punch, “Let us support our own. Let us love our country and other short stories”, a tongue-in-cheek nod to Kenyan political ironies.

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The meme mania didn’t stop there. A throwback image of Speaker Moses Wetang’ula standing beside the late Pope resurfaced, rebranded hilariously as “Papa wa Roma na Papa Mtakatifu.”

But the humour wasn’t universal. Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris slammed the online trend, branding it “disrespectful.”

“I’ve seen a lot of people on social media—those with no respect—painting a picture of a man who lived with God and led two billion people, using Raila’s image in papal clothes. That’s so disrespectful,” she said.

“Gen Zs should learn to honour both Raila and the late Pope. He hasn’t even been laid to rest. This is shameful.”