Kenya’s President William Ruto was dramatically interrupted during a rally in Migori County on Sunday, May 4, when a protester hurled a shoe at him mid-speech amid growing anger over the country’s high cost of living.
The moment, captured in widely circulated videos, showed Ruto calmly deflecting the flying shoe with his arm before continuing his address undisturbed.
Undeterred, he posed a question to the crowd, saying, “We have said we are reducing the price of fertiliser, true or false?” as the shoe kicked up dust near him.
Public frustration in Kenya has surged in recent months over tax hikes and economic hardship.
In response, Ruto has scrapped some proposed tax increases and controversially brought members of the opposition into his cabinet.
Still, public discontent continues to be on the rise.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen later confirmed, via The Star newspaper, that three individuals had been arrested over the incident.
The act drew comparisons to the 2008 protest in which an Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at then-U.S. President George W. Bush—an enduring image of public defiance.
