A few months into his first term,
Claim
Six claims, about the cost of fertiliser and power, the number of livestock in
Verdict
Three correct, one mostly correct, one incorrect and one unproven
Source
Kenyan president
During his chat with journalists, Ruto was correct to claim that his government had lowered the cost of fertiliser.
He was also right that a gas power plant produced expensive electricity, while hydropower was much cheaper. A claim about geothermal energy was unproven.
He was incorrect to say that Kenya had the third highest number of livestock in
For the first time since he was elected, Kenyan president
He answered questions about topics such as his administration's promises to create jobs, lower the cost of living, boost food security and improve manufacturing.
We asked spokesperson
Claim
"We've reduced the cost of fertiliser from about KSh6,000 to KSh3,500."
Verdict
Correct
Fertilisers contain chemicals that help improve the growth and productivity of plants.
Agriculture makes up a fifth (22.4%) of Kenya's gross domestic product (GDP), a common measure of the size of an economy.
When Ruto was sworn in on
The agriculture ministry announced the lower price a week later. It said farmers could buy the subsidised fertiliser from the
In October farmers interviewed by the media said that they had bought the fertiliser at the lower price. We therefore rate the president's claim as correct.
Commercial fertiliser prices remain high
But it's a different story on the open market. Here a 50kg bag of fertiliser can cost more than KSh5,000 (
A 2018 study by the
Claim
"The Muhoroni power plant is producing energy at 52 US cents per kilowatt hour."
Verdict
Mostly Correct
The gas turbine plant in Muhoroni, a town in southwestern Kenya about 300 kilometres from the capital
Thermal power plants - like the Muhoroni gas plant - burn fuel that boils water, producing steam. The steam then drives electricity generators. This is in contrast to hydropower plants, where falling water drives the generators.
Ruto used the Muhoroni plant as an example of the high cost of energy in
A kilowatt hour (KWh) measures the energy used by an electrical device. It's the measure seen on your electricity bill.
The
So we checked the firm's most recent annual report. In the 2021/22 financial year,
In 2021, according to the most recent economic survey from the
The gas plant's output accounted for only 0.5% of the 7,911 GWh the utility bought that financial year. But proportionately, it cost nearly 10 times this, or 4.2%, of the total KSh48.4 billion
Ruto's claim about the plant's high cost is mostly correct. - Makinia Juma
Claim
"We are getting power from our hydros at four US cents per KWh."
Verdict
Correct
KenGen produces electricity from 14 hydropower plants. (Note: See here for more details about how electricity is generated.)
Nine of these - including Gitaru, Kiambere and Turkwel - are large plants. Five are much smaller.
In the 2021/22 financial year,
The Sang'oro station is one of the nine larger hydros, but for unclear reasons is treated separately in the annual report. The bill for the 10 GWh, or 110 million KWh, bought from the plant comes to KSh752 million, or KSh6.83 per KWh.
The average cost of electricity from the large hydros is therefore KSh4.79. This works out to 4.36 US cents at the 2021 exchange rate of KSh109.65.
The report also lumps wind power with the small hydropower stations. Without more detailed data from
But the available data does back up Ruto's claim. - Makinia Juma
Claim
"We have 400 megawatts of capped geothermal energy."
Verdict
Unproven
We asked the State House spokesperson what Ruto meant by "capped" geothermal energy. We will update this report should we hear back.
Geothermal energy is the natural heat stored in the earth's crust. To produce it, wells are drilled deep underground, and the resulting steam drives large turbines that produce electricity.
Kenya has geothermal potential of up to 10,000 MW, according to the country's energy regulator. So far, 828 MW is "installed capacity", or "the maximum theoretical electric output a power station can produce when operating at 100%". (Note:
In its most recent annual report, published in 2020, the state-run
Projects totalling 430 MW are in development, according to the chief executive's statement in the report. Most of this is in partnership with KenGen, which put out a statement on the day Ruto spoke to the media.
There is publicly available data showing that 400 MW or so is being developed. But without confirmation from Ruto's spokesperson it is unclear whether the president was referring to this. -
Claim
"We are the third-largest livestock holder as a country in
Verdict
Incorrect
In making this claim, the president was talking about the potential of Kenya's leather industry. We traced the claim to a 2015
Dr
FAO lists 18 categories of livestock, from bees and chickens to buffalos, cattle and horses.
Njagi said we should focus on camels, cattle, goats and sheep as these are "referred to as traditional livestock." They are also the animals listed in 2012 government research on the leather industry.
Njagi also said that since the Covid pandemic, Kenya has lost a significant number of its poultry, as farmers opted out due to high food costs. This volatility is also why our focus is on "traditional" livestock.
FAO uses the official numbers. When these are unavailable, it turns to "non-official sources or historical data". The agency's most recent figures are from 2021.
Below is a ranking of African countries by livestock holding:
Top African countries by traditional livestock numbers
Rank
Country
Number
1
153,336,110
2
146,386,010
3
128,196,687
4
110,399,490
5
Kenya
84,653,025
6
64,490,817
7
58,513,921
8
52,708,573
9
42,018,450
10
38,832,387
Source: FAO 2021. See our calculations here.
By this breakdown, Kenya has the fifth - not third - highest number of livestock in
Claim
"Kenya has the largest economy in this region."
Verdict
Mostly Correct
Ruto made this claim during a discussion of Kenya's interventions in conflicts in several African countries. We have asked his spokesperson what he meant by "region".
Kenya has its military in missions in the
Former Kenyan president
During the discussion, Ruto said that he travelled to
"We have a huge interest in the stability of this region. If this region is unstable, the biggest hit will be on our economy," he said.
Kenya shares a border with five countries:
It is also part of the
Kenya,
Then there is the Eastern Africa Standby Force, a combined military set up to "enhance peace and security in the eastern Africa region". Its 10 members are
What the data shows
We checked for the most recent data from the
The data shows that in the EAC, Kenya has the largest economy, at
The
Here is a table showing the breakdown, region and size of the economy based on the two data sources.
Therefore we rate Ruto's claim as mostly correct. -
Copyright Africa Check. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source