Video Shows Kenya’s President Getting Hit By A Shoe During Rally

A video that has gone viral on social media shows Kenya’s President William Ruto getting hit by a shoe while giving a speech.

Ruto was hit by a flying shoe while delivering a speech in western Kenya.

As the Kenyan President stated, “We have said we are reducing the price of fertilizer, true or false?” a shoe came flying from the crowd at the President, but he was able to quickly block it with his arm.

Ruto suffered no injuries from the incident.

Another angle shows how the shoe ‘accidentally’ hit President Ruto during his Migori tour pic.twitter.com/aHp1InLphw

— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) May 5, 2025

Ruto becomes the First African President to ever face the wrath of a shoe, because Kenyams are tired with the lies, abductions, incompetence and ineptitude. pic.twitter.com/uvLgIqnR4S

— SokoAnalyst (@SokoAnalyst) May 4, 2025

Per CNN:

Kenya’s President William Ruto fended off a shoe thrown at him during a speech about the cost of living which has been a source of public anger, videos shared on social media showed.

Ruto has been compelled to abandon tax hikes and invite opposition members into cabinet, but discontent remains high in the East African nation.

On Sunday at the rally in Migori county in western Kenya, Ruto blocked the flying footwear with his arm and did not appear to be injured, according to three videos.

“We have said we are reducing the price of fertilizer, true or false?” he said as the shoe bounced off him, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said police had arrested three people, The Star newspaper reported.

Is that a shoe being hurled at the President of Kenya? pic.twitter.com/Oevyrfuig2

— Mulei. (@VloneMulei) May 4, 2025

The moment had many people reminisce about the time when President George W. Bush famously ducked a shoe that was thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist in 2008.

Kenya President hit with a shoe mid-rally in Migori

Spoke on cost of living, got hit with the cost of patience

A decade ago Bush dodged a shoe — Ruto caught the impact pic.twitter.com/uq4tYwx8Q1

— RT (@RT_com) May 5, 2025

An Iraqi journalist chucks a shoe at George W. Bush in 2008, a form of protest that dates back to ancient times. pic.twitter.com/GG47M1AC6G

— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) April 29, 2023

Per BBC:

The Kenyan government has described as “shameful” an incident in which a shoe was thrown at President William Ruto during a rally on Sunday.

Widely shared video clips show the footwear striking the president’s left arm as he held it aloft while he was speaking.

Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura condemned what happened and called for those behind it to be “apprehended”. “What would happen if we all decided to throw shoes at each other? What values are we teaching our children?” he asked in post on X calling for the institution of the presidency to be respected.

Kenyan media are reporting that three people have been arrested, but the police have not confirmed this.
Some MPs have also criticised the shoe-throwing, which has been described as a major security lapse.
Dennis Itumbi, a senior official in the president’s office, has described the incident as a “moment that got out of hand” suggesting that it happened by accident.

On Facebook, he shared a video taken from a different angle, which he said showed a person lifting a shoe “in jest, pretending to be a camera” and another person slapping it away, “annoyed that the ‘shoe-cam’ blocked his view”.

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“Unfortunately, it flew forward… straight toward the president,” he said.