Editor's Review

It's not intelligent for 54 of us to go and sit before one gentleman from another place - President Ruto. 

President William Ruto is widely known on the continent and worldwide for his coherence and bold statements, some of which have come to haunt him. 

In April 2023, Ruto, while speaking to Mo Ibrahim, claimed that summits convened by single nations in Europe and other continents abroad that invite all African heads of state are not productive. 

He claimed that in some of the meetings, leaders were being loaded into buses, which he termed disrespectful.

"We have made the decision that it is not intelligent for 54 of us to go and sit before one gentleman from another place. And sometimes we are mistreated. We are loaded into buses like school kids. It's not right. It's not right. So the decision that we have made as AU is that going forward, if there is going to be a discussion between Africa and any other country, we are going to be represented by the chair of the African Union Commission," Ruto said on May 2, 2023. 

In July 2023, two months after making the remark, President Ruto skipped the Russia-Africa summit, which suggested that he was living up to his word.

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However, in January 2024, he traveled to Europe for the Italy-Africa summit, which contradicted his earlier position and thus earned him backlash.

Leaders including President William Ruto at Italy-Africa summit. 

Speaking at the summit, Ruto defended his move to attend it, stating that it differed from the other summits in its organisation and the type of discussions held. 

"I have previously noted that an invitation extended by one country to all 54 African nations did not necessarily serve Africa's best interests, but those of us present at this conference, representing our colleagues, find it different and inspiring due to the pragmatic approach you, have taken, Madam Prime Minister," Ruto said.

In September 2024, the President also contradicted his initial stand when he traveled to China for the 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, which Xi Jinping hosted. 

Leaders including President Ruto at the China-Africa Cooperation Summit. 

The high-profile event brought together African Heads of State, Chinese leaders, and the African Union Commission.

The leaders were photographed together at the summit, thus creating an online discussion with users reminding the president of his previous stand. 

The team statements have come back to haunt Ruto who's now being ridiculed as a man who does not keep his word.