Kenya: President Ruto Apologizes to Tanzania Following Recent Tiff

The President offered a public apology and appealed for reconciliation, not just with Tanzania, but with Uganda and the broader EAC.

President William Ruto has moved to ease rising diplomatic tensions with neighboring Tanzania, following a series of incidents that have strained relations between the two countries.

Speaking during the Annual National Prayer Breakfast held in Nairobi, the President offered a public apology and appealed for reconciliation, not just with Tanzania, but with Uganda and the broader East African Community.

“To our children, if we’ve made mistakes, we apologize. To our neighbors in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ugandaif we have gone wrong in any way, we ask for your forgiveness,” Ruto said.

His comments came in the wake of a diplomatic storm sparked by the detention and alleged mistreatment of several Kenyan activists in Tanzania, most notably outspoken activist Boniface Mwangi.

Mwangi was reportedly tortured before being deported to Kenya, after attempting to attend the high-profile treason trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

The incident triggered a wave of outrage on Kenyan social media, with many especially from Kenya’s Generation Z criticizing the Tanzanian authorities and accusing them of suppressing democratic freedoms.

In retaliation, Tanzanian Members of Parliament lashed out in heated parliamentary debates, accusing Kenyan youth and activists of meddling in Tanzania’s internal affairs. The backlash soon escalated into digital warfare, with netizens from both countries trading barbs in a heated online feud.

President Ruto cognizant of the mounting tensions, chose the national stage of the prayer breakfast to issue an apology to the neighboring countries.

“If there is any misstep that we have done, we apologize. Let’s do less of finding fault, and more of building the relationships that make our country stronger,” he said.

Ruto’s remarks indirectly acknowledging the activism that had unsettled Tanzania without explicitly condemning or defending it.

“I want to remind you, great people of my country, of the words from Psalms 133: ‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity. Where there is unity, God commands a blessing,” the President said.

This comes days after President Samia Suluhu Hassan  reaffirmed her administration’s commitment to safeguarding Tanzania from foreign interference, warning that so-called “outsiders” are exploiting advocacy and partnerships as cover to destabilise the nation.

Speaking during the swearing-in of newly appointed government officials at State House in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, President Suluhu urged vigilance across all sectors of government and civil society.

“They may not succeed through direct confrontation, but they will infiltrate our institutions our ministries, our agencies. I urge you all to be alert and protect our nation,” she said.

Her remarks come amid growing scrutiny over Tanzania’s treatment of human rights defenders and civil society actors.

While the President did not name specific entities, her comments are widely seen as a veiled response to mounting criticism from international human rights organisations and foreign governments over the country’s increasingly constrained civic space.

The warning follows fresh allegations of abuse involving two prominent East African activistsUgandan journalist and rights advocate Agather Atuhaire, and Kenyan photojournalist and social justice campaigner Boniface Mwangi—who were reportedly mistreated while in the custody of Tanzanian authorities.

On 23^rd May, the United States government expressed “deep concern” over the alleged human rights violations and called for a thorough investigation.

“The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment in Tanzania of two East African activists Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi,” the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs posted on X.