IN SHORT: A TikTok video claims Kenya's prime cabinet secretary Musalia Mudavadi confessed to being paid to kill politician Cyrus Jirongo. But the video is not real and there is no evidence Mudavadi ever said this.
A TikTok video appears to show Kenya's prime cabinet secretary and foreign affairs minister, Musalia Mudavadi, seated at a desk and speaking to an audience behind the camera. He makes dramatic facial expressions and appears to cry in an unusual way. Speaking in Kiswahili, he says "Ruto alinilipa 200 million niue Jirongo. Saa hii ameniruka ni-", before the clip cuts off.
This roughly translates to: "Ruto paid me 200 million to kill Jirongo. Now he has turned against me, I-"
Cyrus Jirongo was a veteran Kenyan politician who died in a road accident in late 2025.
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The video has been circulated widely, with more than 692,000 views, about 15,900 likes and over 130 comments.
Background and context
Cyrus Jirongo was a former member of parliament for Lugari. He was influential under Kenya's second president, Daniel Moi, and later became a strong critic of current president William Ruto, especially ahead of the 2022 elections.
Jirongo died on 13 December 2025 after his car collided with a bus along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. His death sparked public debate, with several politicians questioning the circumstances of the accident, including why he appeared to be travelling far from his expected route that night. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the crash appeared to be an accident, with no foul play. A post-mortem found he died from severe chest injuries.
There were more claims of possible foul play surrounding Jirongo's funeral. A key discussion was whether to bury Jirongo with a torch, a traditional burial rite performed when wrongdoing is suspected in the death. The lit torch is symbolic for finding the suspected killers.
The viral video now claims Mudavadi admitted he was paid to kill Jirongo, suggesting this ritual has brought justice. But did this prominent Kenyan politician really admit to murder? We checked.
Video is fake and AI-generated
The video is not genuine. It shows clear signs of being created using artificial intelligence tools. Mudavadi's movements look unnatural, and his tears appear to flow like water, which is unrealistic. A real photo of Mudavadi appears to have been animated. The first frame closely matches this genuine photo of him, but his appearance subtly changes once he begins talking.
Another clue is the text visible where a TikTok description normally appears. It reads: "grok-video-9bbcd606-4457-44f3-962e-cfee48549324." This looks like an automatic file name generated by Grok AI or a related tool, suggesting the video was created using AI and uploaded without renaming the file.
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The voice in the clip also does not sound like Mudavadi. It does not match his known tone, accent or speaking style. There is also no credible record of Mudavadi ever making such a statement. If a senior Kenyan government official had admitted to being involved in a killing, especially one allegedly ordered by a sitting president, it would have been widely reported by the media and sparked huge public debate. No such reports exist.
The DCI said the preliminary findings showed no foul play. However, they stated the investigation is not closed and the final report will be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions for direction. They urged the public to avoid speculation.
The claim that Musalia Mudavadi admitted to being paid to kill Cyrus Jirongo is false. The viral video is AI-generated and misleading.
