Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has responded to President William Ruto’s latest attacks with humour, declining to engage in a direct political confrontation and instead embracing the “Sponyo” nickname that Ruto has used while accusing him of financing opposition activities.

Speaking on Friday, September 18, during the burial of Christine Nelly Waruguru Kariuki in Gikuu, Kiharu Constituency, Murang’a County, Kenyatta deliberately kept his address largely away from politics.

He told mourners he would stick to prepared remarks, joking that speaking freely had become risky because his words could be interpreted politically.

But as he concluded his speech, the former president made an apparent reference to Ruto’s recent attacks.

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“That is all from ‘Sponyo’, we will continue being together, God bless you,” Kenyatta said, drawing laughter from mourners.

The remark was widely interpreted as a response to Ruto’s repeated claims that his former boss is financing or otherwise supporting opposition forces seeking to challenge his administration. Kenyatta did not, however, directly confirm or deny those allegations at the funeral.

The exchange follows a sharp escalation in rhetoric from Ruto during his tour of Nyanza this week.

Ruto accused Kenyatta of working with opposition figures to undermine his administration and revisited their political fallout ahead of the 2022 General Election.

During his Thursday engagements in Homa Bay County, Ruto accused his predecessor of abandoning the statesman-like role expected of a retired president and instead supporting forces opposed to his government.

Ruto also returned to the disputed political understanding between the two men dating back to their alliance ahead of the 2013 election.

The President has maintained that he supported Kenyatta for two presidential terms with an expectation that Kenyatta would subsequently support his bid for State House. Their relationship deteriorated during Kenyatta’s second term, and Kenyatta eventually backed Raila Odinga against Ruto in the 2022 presidential election.

Ruto nevertheless won that election.

The latest confrontation comes as political alignments shift rapidly ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Kenyatta has increasingly appeared at events alongside figures opposed to Ruto, while the President and his allies have accused the former head of state of helping finance opposition mobilisation.

Kenyatta’s Friday appearance was also politically significant because former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and People’s Party of Kenya leader Ndindi Nyoro attended the same funeral.

Rather than directly answering Ruto’s allegations, however, Kenyatta used the President’s nickname for him as a joke.

His response leaves the underlying political question unanswered: what role, if any, does the former president intend to play as opposition groups organise to challenge Ruto in 2027?

For now, Kenyatta appears content to leave that question open — while showing that he has heard the attacks coming from his successor.