- Source #1
- View Source #1
- Source #2
- View Source #2
A viral graphic circulating on social media claims President William Ruto said Kenya needs a new Constitution that would not require the government to consult the people.
The quote, presented alongside Ruto’s image, reads: “We need a new Constitution that does not require us to consult the people.”
However, the statement has been taken out of context.
The quote, presented alongside Ruto’s image, reads: “We need a new Constitution that does not require us to consult the people.”
However, the statement has been taken out of context.
- Tunachokijua
- Ruto made the remarks on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, during the launch of the Beyond 2030 national conversation at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). His speech focused on the development of a new long-term national blueprint to succeed Vision 2030.
While Ruto did use the words featured in the viral graphic, he immediately followed them with an important clarification.
He said: “It is important that we engage in this conversation in the context of a new constitution, a new constitution that does not require us to consult the people, no. It is mandatory.”
The viral graphic cuts off the sentence before the words “no. It is mandatory,” leaving viewers with a meaning that is different from the full statement.
Ruto was arguing that Kenya’s 2010 Constitution makes public participation a requirement, rather than something the government can choose to do.
He further explained that the opportunity to formulate a successor to Vision 2030 is different from the process that produced Vision 2030 in 2008. According to Ruto, the current process should be shaped by Kenyans themselves rather than being designed solely by government officials or technocrats.
“We have an opportunity this time round… to formulate a long-term plan — one that is done by the people, not by the government, not by bureaucrats — by the people themselves,” Ruto said.
The planned consultations are expected to involve citizens and stakeholders across Kenya, with discussions eventually moving to all 47 counties and different sectors.
The controversy surrounding the graphic therefore centres not on whether Ruto mentioned a Constitution that would not request public consultation, but on the omission of the words that immediately followed — “no. It is mandatory.”
