President William Ruto on Thursday misquoted the bible yet again as he was perceived to warn his deputy Rigathi Gachagua in his public spat with Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja.

President Ruto was speaking when he attended the passing out parade of 1,995 Administration Police (AP) officers at Embakasi in Nairobi County on Wednesday.

Without directly mentioning whom he was referring to, the Head of State warned that he would not entertain any public officer to disrespect their colleague in executing their duties.

“As the president of this country, I shall now allow anyone to disrespect the work of their colleagues; we all contribute to building one Kenya,” President Ruto said.


He then went on to quote 1 Timothy 1:12 saying it spoke of Apostle Paul warning Timothy not to allow anyone to despise the youth.

“Paul, in the Bible, told Timothy, in the book of 1 Timothy 1:12, that you should not allow anyone to despise your youth,” quoted Ruto.

However, in the New International Version, 1 Timothy 1:12 states: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.”


The verse he intended to quote is 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV) which says: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

Regardless of the misquoted verse, he made clear his political position on DP Gachagua’s incessant attacks on Sakaja over his plans to eject long-distance matatus from the CBD.