Kenya: Ignore Manipulated Video Showing Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta Appearing to Hint At 2027 Presidential Bid

IN SHORT: A video appearing to show former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta hinting at the possibility of contesting the 2027 presidential elections is getting attention on social media. But it’s been manipulated and the audio is fake.

A video appearing to show former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta hinting that he might contest the 2027 presidential election is circulating on social media.

In the video, Kenyatta appears to say: “I have received a lot of requests to vie again for president in 2027. I hear most of you miss me and miss my leadership skills. I will answer this question on 25 December this year to tell you whether I will vie or not.”

The video has accumulated over 457,000 views on Facebook and appears to have originated on TikTok, where it has been viewed more than 1.3 million times.

Kenyatta served as the country’s president for two terms, from 2013 to 2022, with William Ruto as his deputy. The two later fell out and Kenyatta backed then-opposition leader Raila Odinga in the 2022 presidential election. However, Ruto won. It remains unclear whether Kenyatta and Ruto have since reconciled.

The Kenyan constitution limits the president to two five-year terms. Ruto has already announced that he intends to run – and win – the 2027 general election.

But is the video of Kenyatta authentic? We checked.

Manipulated video

We did a reverse image search of a screenshot from the video, which revealed that it was taken on 26 September 2025 during the former ruling Jubilee Party’s national delegates conference in Nairobi.

To determine whether the circulating video had repurposed the original footage, we closely examined the section where Kenyatta made a specific hand gesture and compared it with the original video. We were able to locate the corresponding segment.

The original video shows him saying: “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 merges an authentic clip with fake audio, possibly generated using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, to create the impression that Kenyatta is considering a 2027 presidential bid.

The claim that Kenyatta has hinted he may run again in 2027 is false and misleading.

By Africa Check