Kenyan President William Ruto has defended his recent remarks on English proficiency and education standards, saying his comments were misinterpreted and taken out of context after sparking online controversy.
Speaking at the Mining Investment Conference and Expo in Nairobi on Tuesday, and aired by NTV Kenya, Ruto said the remarks were made in a private conversation that was later made public.
“Please pass my regards, Minister, to President Tinubu, my friend, and to the great people of Nigeria, who are my in-laws, and do so in good English.
“And, you know, I was captured, I was speaking to my fellow citizens somewhere, and somebody, it was supposed to be a private conversation, but somebody decided that it should be public. But they also misrepresented the facts,” Ruto stated.
He maintained that his comments were meant to highlight general English proficiency across Africa, insisting they were not intended as an insult to Nigerians.
“The facts are that I was talking about how we in Africa speak very good English, all of us. In fact, in some countries like Nigeria, if you don’t speak excellent English, like the one we speak in Kenya, you may need a translator, you know, for you to understand the excellent English of Nigeria.
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“So that was the comparison, but somebody decided to take it out of context. But I think it is as well that we can have this conversation. And my in-laws, I hope there will be no consequences for whatever was done,” he added.
The clarification follows earlier comments attributed to Ruto in a video circulating online, where he praised Kenya’s education system and suggested it produces strong English speakers while contrasting it with Nigeria.
In that video, Ruto was quoted as saying: “Our education is good. Our English is good. We speak some of the best English in the world. If you listen to a Nigerian speaking, you don’t know what they are saying. You need a translator.”
Although he did not mention any specific individual, the remarks were widely interpreted online as a response to recent comments by President Bola Tinubu during a visit to Bayelsa State on April 10, 2026, where the Nigerian president compared living conditions in Nigeria with those in other African countries, including Kenya.
The exchange had since triggered reactions on social media, with users debating the tone of both leaders’ comments and what it suggests about public communication between African heads of state.
