Video of ‘Rhino chasing Ruto’ is AI generated

A video that has since gone viral, claiming to be a Rhino chasing President William Ruto, is AI-generated, the Star can confirm.

This followed a brief tense moment President Ruto had alongside other present guests during the launch of the Tsavo West Rhino Conservation Sanctuary on Tuesday.

In the video, a man who appears to be the President, clad in the same clothes he wore at the launch, is seen running away from the said Rhino.

The man is on the ground.

However, videos from the actual event show Ruto and Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano and other guests, as well as Rangers standing on a raised platform, at the back of a truck.

All angles of the coverage reveal that the Rhino could not reach them.

Reports of the tense moment came after a newly freed rhino unexpectedly turned as if charging towards the platform where President Ruto and other officials were standing before making a quick turn.

This unexpected movement caused the president and the guests to panic briefly, where he is then heard saying “Inataka fujo”, which translates to “It is looking for trouble.”

The guests are then heard laughing while others clapped as the Rhino ran into the bushes.

The newly unveiled sanctuary, spanning more than 3,200 square kilometres, is now the largest rhino sanctuary in the world.

The sanctuary will significantly accelerate the country's long-term conservation goals of reaching 1,450 rhinos by 2030 and 2,000 rhinos by 2037.

For decades, the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary — only 92 square kilometres in size — has held nearly 150 black rhinos, more than two and a half times its ecological capacity.

The extreme congestion has limited breeding, increased territorial conflict, reduced calf survival, and placed immense stress on the animals.