President William Ruto has apologised to Tanzania, following recent tensions between the two countries.
Speaking during the National Prayer Breakfast in Nairobi on Wednesday, Ruto offered the apology on behalf of Kenyans, responding to a call by American preacher Rickey Allen Bolden, who asked politicians to seek reconciliation.
“From Tanzania, if we have wronged you in any way, please forgive us. Our friends from Uganda, if we have wronged you in any way, please forgive us,” he said.
Ruto said further, “To our children, if there has been any misstep, we apologise. To our neighbours, if there has been any misstep, forgive us. We want to build relationships that will move our countries forward.”
Last year, thousands of Kenyan youth poured into the streets expressing their rage over the Finance Bill 2024, which had punitive revenue raising proposals.
This forced President Ruto to halt the signing of the bill into law, and later saw him include members of the opposition into the Cabinet after an initial reorganisation.
Meanwhile, the tiff between the two countries emerged following the deportation of six Kenyans who were in Dar es Salaam to attend the trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu two weeks ago. The aftermath has been a wash of social media criticism being launched between the two countries and their leaders.
Tanzanian parliamentarians expressed outrage this week over the behaviour of Kenyan activists and youth following recent deportations.
On Tuesday, Tanzanian MP Jesca Msambatavangu accused Kenyan youths of cyberbullying her, saying her phone was flooded with calls and messages after she criticised Kenyan activists for meddling in Tanzania’s internal affairs.
The tension escalated on Monday during a heated debate in the Tanzanian parliament, where legislators urged President William Ruto to take action against Kenyans who have been disrespecting Tanzania’s Head of State, President Samia Suluhu.
The events escalated further when Home Affairs Minister Innocent Bashungwa asked police officers to punish Tanzanians publishing content produced outside the country on social media, painting President Suluhu in a bad light.
Speaking on Monday, when presenting his ministry's 2025/26 budget, the minister urged the police to collaborate with the Tanzanian Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to pick out Tanzanians sharing foreign activist content and have them face the full force of the law.
On May 22, the Pan African Progressive Leaders' Solidarity Network, led by its leader, Martha Karua, wrote to the African Union, urging it to take action against Suluhu over claims of unlawfully detaining Ugandan activist Agathar Atuhaire and her Kenyan counterpart, Boniface Mwangi.
However, the situation eased a bit following the release of Mwangi and Atuhaire, who, however, revealed that they were tortured while in detention by Tanzanian authorities.
