Digital strategist Dennis Itumbi, a close ally of President William Ruto, revealed on the Iko Nini podcast that a plot to assassinate Ruto when he was deputy president was real and well-documented.

Speaking on Thursday, October 9, 2025, Itumbi said the matter had been brought to court, and he possesses videos and documents proving the plot.

“It is absolutely factual. I have videos. I stood in court. Those matters are in court, the file is in court,” Itumbi said during the interview.

He added that a court order prevents him from publicly playing some of the evidence.

“In fact, there’s an order for me not to play it which exists up to today.”

“We went through the court process uh, [a] former PS was a complainant when we went to court. We told him to come and testify on what he was complaining about, to say basically that there was no such a meeting. So that then I would call the people who attended to say we were actually in that meeting and this was planned.”

Assassination plot

According to Itumbi, the assassination plot was discussed at a meeting called by a former Principal Secretary at a hotel in Nairobi. The meeting involved several senior government officials, including former Cabinet Secretaries.

Itumbi said some attendees excused themselves, but others were present when plans targeting Ruto were discussed.

“The former PS, and by the way you should go to his Facebook account. I think two days ago he tried to confront me on that issue and the response is still there.

“So you can get it even as you edit for this podcast. So [he] called a meeting at [a hotel]. Yes. [The] hotel next to the NIS headquarters, and he called all the CSs, PS who were then working for government.”

“The former PS stood in that meeting and said, ‘Do not worry yourself about this campaign about the deputy president becoming president. We are going to do everything possible.’ He said it. I said it in court.”

“I told him to come and he was a complainant. We asked him to come and take the stand and say it was not true. He ran away. In fact, he used his power to remove his name, only that I had the originals because you know there’s something you sign at DCI which shows you the complainant. So I had the original because they had a copy. So we tabled it in court.”

Itumbi defended his position, emphasising the importance of separating real information from fake news. He said misinformation could quickly destabilise the country if not checked, and he criticised the use of criminal law to punish people for spreading false information.

“Misinformation is the fastest way towards chaos. There must be a way to correct it without unnecessary arrests,” he said.

Itumbi also referred to a previous case involving two Indian nationals who worked with him and a taxi driver. He said they were abducted, taken to Amboseli, and killed by hyenas, highlighting the extreme risks some face when involved in politically sensitive work.

“At least that extent has not happened here, but you can see the kind of hideous acts humans can go to,” he said.

We’ve withheld the names of individuals mentioned by Itumbi in the podcast.