Kenyan President William Ruto has addressed the backlash trailing his controversial remarks about Nigerian-accented English, insisting that his comments were misunderstood.
Ruto had earlier made the statement while speaking to Kenyans in Italy on Monday, April 20, where he praised Kenya’s education system and command of the English language.
“Our education is good. Our English is good. We speak some of the best English in the world,” he said, before adding, “If you listen to a Nigerian speaking, you don’t know what they are saying. You need a translator even when they are speaking English.”
The remark, which initially drew laughter from his audience, sparked widespread criticism online, with many Nigerians and other Africans accusing him of mocking a fellow African nation.
However, speaking on Tuesday, April 28, at a mining conference in Nairobi, Ruto said his comments had been taken out of context.
“You know, I was speaking to my fellow citizens somewhere, and it was supposed to be a private conversation, but somebody decided that it should be made public. It was also misrepresented,” he said.
He further explained that his intention was to highlight the high standard of spoken English across African countries.
“The fact is that I was talking about how we in Africa speak very good English, all of us. In fact, in some countries like Nigeria, if you do not speak excellent English like the one we speak in Kenya, you may need a translator to understand the excellent English of Nigeria,” he added.
Elijah Adeyemi
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