President William Ruto has stepped firmly into a growing diplomatic storm, dismissing uproar over Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s recent comments about access to the Indian Ocean.
Speaking in eastern Uganda, he said parts of the media had “distorted” Museveni’s remarks and fuelled unnecessary tension between the two neighbours.
Ruto made the comments on Saturday in Tororo during the groundbreaking of the Devki Mega Steel Plant, a major Kenyan-owned investment in Uganda. He told the crowd that reports portraying Museveni as staking a claim to Kenya’s coastline had been exaggerated.
“Journalists tried to create an impression that Uganda had said something to the effect that they need to access the sea by all means,” Ruto said.
“Let me assure the naysayers that Uganda and Kenya are brotherly countries,” he added.
His remarks came after sharp debate in Kenya over Museveni’s November 11 statement, in which the Ugandan leader lamented his country’s lack of direct access to the Indian Ocean. Museveni said the situation could spark future disputes inside the East African Community, a comment many Kenyans interpreted as a veiled threat.
“Because where is my ocean? I am entitled to that ocean. In future, we are going to have wars,” Museveni said at the time.
Ruto sought to tamp down the controversy, insisting that nothing had changed in the long-standing arrangement that gives Uganda access to regional ports through Kenya.
“We do not have time for negative engagement, Uganda is assured of access to the sea through Kenya. For those who want to engage in negative talk, please give us a break. We have time for progress, not negativity,” ” Ruto said.
Beyond the coastline debate, Ruto used his visit to highlight deeper economic cooperation between the two countries. He renewed his call for regional governments to take up investment opportunities in Kenya, pointing to the Kenya Pipeline Company as one example.
“The Government of Kenya will be divesting up to 65 percent, and Uganda is prepared to co-invest with us,” he said, describing the pipeline network as a shared regional asset.
Ruto ended his speech by urging both nations to focus on job creation, investment, and closer integration, insisting that Kenya and Uganda stand to gain more as partners than as rivals.
“We must continue building a region where prosperity is shared,” he said, casting the moment as a reminder of how quickly political noise can overshadow deeper ties.
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