IN SHORT: A video on social media claims that Kithure Kindiki has resigned as Kenya’s deputy president after being slapped by president William Ruto’s personal assistant. But there is no evidence of such an incident, and Kindiki remains in office.
A 40-second video circulating on social media in Kenya is captioned: “DP Kindiki resigns a day after he was slapped by Ruto’s PA.”
It appears to be a Citizen TV broadcast with the station reporting: “Kithure Kindiki has announced that he will take a break from active politics.”
The video then cuts to a speech by Kindiki, in which he says: “I have taken the decision to take a break from elective politics. I have decided that I will not be seeking for any appointive positions whatsoever. However, I will remain available to my country in future should an opportunity arise to seek leadership positions that may be available at the national level in the future. That future, I don’t know when it will be.”
Another version, over four minutes long, features more of the same speech and its caption makes the same resignation claims.
The videos have been viewed over 2.5 million times and have received a lot of engagement.
The context
Kindiki took office in November 2024 after his predecessor, Rigathi Gachagua, was impeached.
Farouk Kibet is a long-time personal assistant and close aide to president William Ruto. As Ruto’s right-hand man, he is said to wield considerable power.
One story about him in Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper began: “He is feared and revered in equal measure. Farouk Kibet, a long-time ally and close aide of president William Ruto, has unfettered access to the head of state.”
Another newspaper claimed that he called the shots around Ruto.
In late December, amid increasing cases of abductions of Kenyans critical of the government, the kidnapping of a young Kenyan from Embu county made national headlines.
The county is located in eastern Kenya, which is Kindiki's political stronghold.
The abduction sparked heated online debate and even protests in Embu, with many expecting Kindiki to address the issue. But Kindiki was absent from national and public events for about two weeks around that time, leading to speculation of a rift between him and the president. This further fuelled online rumours that Kibet had slapped Kindiki for inquiring about the abductions.
The deputy president later denied that he had fallen out with his boss and said their working relationship was strong.
But did Kibet slap Kindiki, and did Kindiki resign as deputy president? We checked.
No evidence of the altercation and Kindiki is still DP
A keyword search for the original context of the circulating clip reveals that Kindiki’s speech is from 16 May 2022, almost three years ago.
At the time, he was reacting to being passed over as Ruto’s running mate for the 2022 general election. Although Kindiki received the most nominations, Ruto had chosen Gachagua as his running mate.
Following this decision, Kindiki delivered the speech in question, announcing that he was taking a break from electoral politics and would not seek any elective or appointive positions. However, he pledged to support Ruto’s campaign.
The claim that Kibet slapped Kindiki lacks credible sources, with some other presidential aides denying it.
Kindiki’s resignation, if it were true, would have made headlines and would have been confirmed by credible media outlets and official government statements. None of this has happened.
On 20 January 2025, he joined Ruto to inspect infrastructure. Kindiki has clearly not resigned and continues to perform his duties as deputy president.
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