President William Ruto has defended Kenya’s democratic credentials while calling for responsible use of social media.

Speaking during an event at State House on Thursday, July 21, 2026, Ruto said Kenyans must remain patriotic and honest when discussing national issues. He also placed integrity at the centre of public engagement.

“We must believe in ourselves and be patriotic. Integrity must be the benchmark of our engagements. We must be brutally honest with ourselves,” Ruto said.

Ruto links democracy to social media use

The President described Kenya as a country where citizens freely express their political and social views.

“We are a robustly democratic country,” he said.

Ruto said artificial intelligence and social media were discussed during his attendance at the G7 summit.

“When I went to G7, artificial intelligence was one of the topics of discussion,” he said.

“Kenya, for your information, is number one in the whole world in the use of social media. Every Kenyan spends four hours on average every day.”

The President did not identify the specific report supporting the four-hour figure.

However, international digital studies have consistently placed Kenya among countries with high social-media consumption.

A DataReportal study reported that Kenyan internet users spent an average of three hours and 55 minutes daily on social platforms in 2024.

Ruto said the heavy use of digital platforms had not stopped the country from progressing.

“But even with all that, we are still surging forward,” he said.

Ruto distinguishes protests from criminality

The President asked citizens to consider national security when posting and consuming online content.

“It is important for us to think about the security of our country, even in the social-media era,” Ruto said.

He acknowledged the constitutional right to demonstrate. However, he argued that protests were sometimes infiltrated by people engaging in theft, arson and other offences.

“We have had demonstrations, constitutional and legal, but we also have thugs who steal from people and burn buildings,” he said.

Ruto said the government must listen to young people and respond to their concerns. He maintained that this should not prevent authorities from dealing with criminal conduct.

“The conversation is, ‘Please, these are our kids, so we must listen to them,’ which is okay,” he said.

“Yes, we must listen to them.”

His remarks place fresh attention on the information Kenyans post and consume online. Social media has become a major platform for political debate, mobilisation and scrutiny of government.

The President urged users to exercise responsibility and avoid circulating content that could endanger citizens, undermine security or confuse lawful protest with criminal activity.