No evidence Kenya's electoral commission chair Erastus Ethekon said president William Ruto would win 2027 elections
IN SHORT: Graphics with claims that Kenya's electoral commission chair Erastus Ethekon hinted that Kenyan president William Ruto would win the 2027 general elections are circulating on social media. But this is made up.
Graphics doing the rounds on social media attribute a controversial quote to the chair of Kenya's electoral commission, Erastus Ethekon.
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According to the graphics, Ethekon hinted that Kenyan president William Ruto would emerge victorious in his re-election bid in 2027.
The quote reads: "IEBC haina majina ya watu waliregister before 2012. Kama unajua wewe ulishika kura kabla ya 2012, unafaa kuenda kushika kura tena. Kama sio hivyo hautapiga kura. Mimi naona William Ruto akishinda hii kitu."
This translates from Swahili as: "IEBC does not have the names of people who registered as voters before 2012. If you know you registered before 2012, you should go and register again. If not, you will not vote. I see William Ruto emerging as the winner."
The IEBC refers to Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. Ethekon was nominated by Ruto in May 2025 to succeed former chair Wafula Chebukati, who died on 20 February. Ethekon was approved by parliament and sworn in on 11 July, together with six commissioners.
Elections in Kenya are highly contested. Previous IEBC chairs have faced threats and attacks, both online and in real life, because of the winners they announced. By law, they are expected to act independently and not be subject to direction or control by any person or authority, but since the president nominates them, the position is widely seen as political.
The quote attributed to Ethekon has appeared at a time when the commission asked those who registered manually before 2012 to ensure they are captured in the biometric system launched in 2012. Kenya will hold its next general election in 2027.
The quote has been widely posted. But can it be trusted? We checked.
Fake graphics
If the chair of the electoral commission had declared that Ruto would win the 2027 election, it would have been quickly picked up by local media outlets, likely sparking heated debate online and offline, as well as calls for Ethekon's resignation. But no credible media outlet has reported this, and it is unlikely that the chair would be careless enough to make such controversial remarks, risking his job and reputation.
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Africa Check discovered that the graphics originated from two Facebook pages, Kenya News Flash and People's Voice News, notorious for posting fabricated quotes, many of which have been debunked by Africa Check. This makes them unreliable sources of information.
All signs point to fabricated graphics and a fake quote that should be ignored.
