No, Kenya's president was not in a car accident or hospitalised
IN SHORT: Viral TikTok videos claim that president William Ruto was badly injured in a car accident in Nakuru in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. But the clips were generated using artificial intelligence tools and use fake news branding and old, unrelated footage.
"The president of Kenya has been involved in a very serious car accident while on an official work trip in Nakuru. He has been taken to hospital, with doctors saying his condition is very critical."
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That is a rough English translation of the Kiswahili narration in videos going viral in Kenya. The clips, uploaded in late January 2026, appear to show a news broadcast with "ICON Montana News" branding.
Below that footage is a split image, with one side showing president William Ruto and on the other, what appears to be him in a hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask. At the bottom of the screen is separate footage of a damaged vehicle.
Collectively, the clips have more than 4.6 million views, over 74,000 likes and 2,700 comments.
The videos allege that the president was involved in a serious accident and was critically injured. But is this true? We checked.
Background and context
Ruto was in Nakuru county in early January 2026 for official events mainly related to the Nyota Project, which disburses start-up capital to small business owners. Throughout January, Ruto's schedule focused on Nyota Project activities, development tours and political meetings in various parts of the country, concluding with tours in the western Kenya counties of Kisii and Kisumu.
In the same period, there were several reports of serious road crashes on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. The Buuri constituency member of parliament was also involved in a crash, on his way to attending one of Ruto's events. These incidents may have made the viral claim about Ruto seem believable.
Videos are fake
The video is fake. The footage of a damaged car at the bottom of one clip shows visible branding for a YouTube channel. A search of that YouTube channel shows the exact same footage was uploaded on 26 October 2022, years before the current claim. The YouTube channel focuses on repairing damaged vehicles and typically shows cars in their wrecked condition before they are fixed. The footage has no connection to Ruto or to any recent accident.
The supposed news broadcast is also fake and likely generated using artificial intelligence tools. There is no known or credible media house called "ICON Montana News" that reports on Kenyan affairs.
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The name "icon_montana" is from the TikTok account that posted the video, not a recognised news outlet.
Around the time the videos were posted, Ruto was on an official tour in Kisii. He has continued with his normal public schedule, with frequent updates on his activities shared through official channels, including official social platforms and on media reports. There have been no credible reports of any accident, injury or hospitalisation involving him.
The claim is false. Ruto was not in a car accident and was not hospitalised.
