Kenya: No, Kenya’s Interior Minister Didn’t Criticise President Ruto for Firing His Cabinet

No, Kenya’s interior minister didn’t criticise president Ruto for firing his cabinet

IN SHORT: A video on TikTok claims that Kithure Kindiki made a statement against William Ruto after the under-fire president dissolved his cabinet in July 2024. But the video is old and taken out of context – Kindiki was not talking about Ruto.

A video posted on TikTok shows Kenya’s interior minister Kithure Kindiki giving a speech in Kiswahili, the language widely spoken in the country.

In the 35-second clip, his speech roughly translates as: “This country cannot continue like this. We must choose whether we will fix our country so it doesn’t get worse than it already is, or if we will stay with you and your issues. And I want to tell you early on, we will stand with the citizens and our country, and leave you behind.”

The text at the top of the video reads: “See how Kindiki tells Ruto after firing all cabinet secretaries today.”

The text at the bottom, translated from Kiswahili, reads: “Now Kindiki has gone back to the citizens’ side.”

The video has received over 2.6 million views, 106,000 likes and has been shared over 8,100 times. Kindiki’s speech has also been reported as accurate on two popular entertainment websites here and here.

Demonstrations rocking Kenya

Since 18 June 2024, Kenya has been rocked by a series of protests over the controversial finance bill. The demonstrations continued even after president William Ruto withdrew the bill. The protesters are demanding justice for those killed, accountability from the government and even Ruto’s resignation.

Ruto responded to the protests by accepting the resignation of the police chief and dismissing his entire cabinet, with the exception of the prime cabinet secretary. Kindiki, a close Ruto ally who almost became his running mate in the 2022 presidential race, was among those fired.

The TikTok video was shared on 11 July, shortly after the cabinet was fired. The video suggests that Kindiki and other allies have abandoned Ruto and joined the protesting citizens.

But did Kindiki really criticise Ruto after being sacked? We checked.

Kindiki spoke of rogue officers

A reverse image search of keyframes from the video led us to this news report on Kindiki’s speech. Kindiki’s shirt in the TikTok video is the same as in the news report, and the outdoor setting and partially dried vegetation behind him are the same.

We also found a longer video on Kindiki’s Facebook and YouTube pages. The TikTok video was clearly taken from this speech. Kindiki was speaking at a security and intelligence committee meeting in Kenya’s coastal county of Lamu.

In the full video, from around the 15:54 mark, Kindiki congratulates good officers and promises them recognition, promotions and improved welfare.

He then warns rogue government officials involved in bribery and corruption. It is at this point that he makes the remarks in the TikTok video, reiterating that the government is on the side of the people, not the corrupt officials.

The TikTok video is a small part of Kindiki’s speech and uses misleading subtitles to distort the message. The original video was uploaded on 15 June 2023, more than a year before Ruto fired the cabinet.

The TikTok video misrepresents the context and timing of Kindiki’s remarks.

Further evidence of this is the fact that Kindiki has been reappointed to Ruto’s reconstituted cabinet.