George T Diano’s post on X, has caused debate after he accused President William Ruto of taking credit for a leather factory that was already running before Ruto came into office. According to Diano, the Ewaso Ng’iro Tannery and Leather Factory in Narok County was set up during the administration of former president Uhuru Kenyatta, and it had already started operations by 2019.
This claim, supported by various media reports, shows that the project was not a fresh idea from Ruto, despite his administration presenting it as part of his achievements under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
The timeline is clear. Construction of the tannery began around 2016 under the Ewaso Ng’iro South Development Authority, a government body. By July 2019, the factory was already processing leather for export.
By the time Ruto took office in September 2022, the factory had been producing leather for years, with reports showing that over 640,000 square feet of leather had already been made in the 2021/2022 financial year.
Despite this clear history, President Ruto has recently been parading the factory as a flagship project of his administration. In June 2024, his government allocated Sh400 million to expand the factory, including new machines and the start of a footwear unit.
Then in April 2025, the president’s team presented the tannery as a key success under his leadership, even suggesting that it will be copied in all 47 counties. This has led many Kenyans, to question why Ruto is acting like the factory just started under his leadership when in fact, he is only expanding something that was already there.
What frustrates many is not the expansion itself, but the way the president appears to ignore the original efforts that made the factory a reality. Giving the impression that it is his government’s full achievement makes it seem like the groundwork laid by the previous regime does not matter.
There is also confusion caused by a viral Facebook post by Khuria Wa Ndorongo that credits a businessman named Tony with setting up the factory. The tannery was built with public money through ENSDA, and while Tony may be involved in its current operations, claiming he started it is also misleading.
This adds to the speculations surrounding who actually deserves credit for the factory’s success.Public response to Ruto’s claims has mostly been negative. Many X users have expressed anger, saying the president is using small improvements to pretend he built the entire factory.
Others say this is part of a larger problem where leaders take credit for work they didn’t start just to score political points. A few defenders argue that Ruto is simply continuing a good project and taking it further, but most people seem to agree with Diano’s view that Ruto is being dishonest.
The reality is that the tannery existed before Ruto and was already helping the leather industry and creating jobs in Narok. Expanding it is good, but pretending it’s a new achievement shows a deeper problem in how leaders want to be seen as the sole heroes, even when they are not.
This controversy has put Ruto on the spotlight, not just for exaggerating his role in this project, but for raising bigger questions about how credit is claimed in Kenyan politics. If leaders continue to promote half-truths to look good, it will only weaken public trust.
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