This year, Ruto ushered in thousands of Kenyans marking the national holiday in Bungoma, a town in western Kenya, about 300 kilometers from the country’s capital, Nairobi (archived here).
But the video does not show Odinga participating in the 2024 Madaraka Day celebrations, and he does not address Ruto as Kenya’s president.
Manipulated video from 2018
Use one keyword searchAFP Fact Check found the original broadcast on the YouTube page of KTN news posted on June 1, 2018 (archived here).
A side-by-side comparison of the two clips shows Odinga and Ruto on a stage together, wearing the same suits in both videos.
In the footage from KTN News, filmed during the 55th Madaraka Day ceremony, Ruto – the then Vice President – invites Odinga to the stage. Odinga begins his speech with a formal greeting to Uhuru Kenyatta, who was the country’s leader in 2018.
“President of the Republic of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, First Lady Margret Kenyatta, my friend and brother William Ruto and our friend from South Africa, brother and comrade David Mabuza,” Odinga said, speaking Swahili.
The audio of the edited clip has been edited in such a way that Odinga appears to refer to Ruto as “President of the Republic of Kenya”.
According to local media reportsRuto took a more conciliatory approach towards his rival Odinga during the 2018 Madaraka Day celebrations at Kinoru Stadium in Meru County (archived here).
Ruto called Odinga, a former prime minister, “his brother” and friend, describing him as a national leader.
Odinga and Ruto would become rivals in the 2022 elections. Ruto won by a narrow margin, leading to another fallout (archived here) between the two men.
But Odinga’s latest aspiration to become the fifth chairman of the African Union Commission (AUC) appears to have helped thaw relations with Ruto (archived here).
Odinga’s spokesman Dennis Onyango told AFP Fact Check that “Raila was absent from the Madaraka Day celebrations as he was busy with personal matters”.
