IN SHORT: A graphic appearing to quote Kenya’s president William Ruto claims that he planned to support deceased veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga as president in the 2027 general election. But it is fake.
“I was planning to support Baba for president come 2027,” reads a graphic that started circulating on Facebook in Kenya on 20 October 2025. The graphic features an image of Kenya’s president William Ruto.
“Baba” is one of several nicknames Kenyans had for former prime minister and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga. Baba is Kiswahili for “father”.
On 15 October, Odinga died at a hospital in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment. Until his death, Odinga was leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). In March, the ODM and Ruto’s ruling party United Democratic Alliance (UDA) formed an alliance to form a broad-based-government.
The graphic has also been shared here and here.
But did Ruto really say he was planning to support a Raila presidency in 2027? We checked.
Despite the claim’s newsworthiness, Africa Check found no reports from credible media outlets about it. If it were a credible claim, both local and international media would have picked up such a development.
We found that the graphic originated from Channel 7 News, which has previously published graphics attributing fabricated quotes to famous people in Kenya, suggesting that the circulating claim may also be fabricated.
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