Kenya: Ignore Manipulated Video of Former Kenyan President Kenyatta Calling 2022 Election of President Ruto a 'Mistake'

4 December 2025
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Dancan Bwire

IN SHORT: Kenya's former president Uhuru Kenyatta did not say Kenyans made a "mistake" in electing president William Ruto in 2022. The viral video of Kenyatta seemingly making these remarks has been altered.

In a video circulating on social media, Kenya's former president Uhuru Kenyatta appears to warn Kenyans against re-electing the current regime in 2027.

Kenyatta seems to suggest that electing president William Ruto in 2022 was a "mistake".

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

He can be heard saying: "Fellow Kenyans, I know I don't have the responsibility or power to tell you who to elect in 2027. But I just want to tell you that the mistake that you did in 2022, never do it again."

The text superimposed on the video reads: "Former President of Kenya H.E Uhuru Kenyatta has asked Kenyans NOT to do the same mistake they did in 2022 at the ballot."

The video has accumulated over 2.6 million views on Facebook and attracted thousands of engagements.

Kenyatta served as president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022, with Ruto as his deputy. The two later fell out, and Kenyatta backed opposition leader Raila Odinga's presidential bid. However, Ruto won.

It remains unclear whether Kenyatta and Ruto have since mended their differences, but Kenyatta occasionally makes comments deemed critical of his successor's government.

But is the video authentic? We checked.

Video altered

A reverse image search of a screenshot from the video led us to the original footage. The original video was taken on 26 September 2025 during the Jubilee Party's national delegates conference in Nairobi. Led by Kenyatta, the Jubilee is Kenya's former ruling party.

We listened to his full speech. Although Kenyatta made remarks critical of the Ruto administration, we did not find any segment in which he made the comments attributed to him in the circulating video.

To check whether the circulating video reused footage from the original, we analysed the moment when Kenyatta made a specific hand gesture and located the corresponding section in the original video.

In that section of the original video, he said: "So, therefore, party members and my fellow Kenyans, today marks almost three years - as the secretary general has just informed us - since we last gathered here at this very same venue and held our last national conference."

The circulating video combines an authentic video with audio generated using artificial intelligence tools to make it sound like Kenyatta made the remarks.

Kenyatta did not warn Kenyans against re-electing the current government in the 2027 election.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 Africa Check. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 120 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.