KENYA’s President William Ruto has publicly apologised to Tanzania following days of tension between the neighbouring countries.
Some Kenyans on social media have been targeting Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan following the recent detention and deportation of prominent East African activists.
Angry Tanzanian MPs on Monday accused Kenyans of cyberbullying and disrespecting Tanzanian sovereignty and “meddling in domestic affairs”.
Speaking at a national prayer breakfast on Wednesday, Ruto appeared to extend an olive branch to Tanzania.
“To our neighbours from Tanzania, if we have wronged you in any way, forgive us,” he said.
“If there is anything that Kenyans have done that is not right, we want to apologise,” the president added.
Ruto also apologised to young Kenyans, popularly known as Gen-Zs, who have been critical of his administration since the deadly anti-tax protesters last June.
Some of them have dismissed Ruto’s apology, insisting that the president should resign.
The president made the remarks in response to a call by visiting American preacher Rickey Allen Bolden, who urged leaders to pursue reconciliation.
The diplomatic row was triggered by the deportation of activists who had travelled to Tanzania to attend the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Among them were Kenyan Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire from Uganda.
The two said they were held incommunicado for several days and tortured, before they were left at the border by Tanzanian security forces, sparking widespread condemnation across the region and from international rights groups.
Tanzania is yet to comment on the torture claims but President Samia had earlier warned that she would not allow activists from neighbouring countries to “meddle” in her country’s affairs and cause “chaos”.