Kenyans laugh off Ruto claims about 23,000 Apple jobs

On February 13, while speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, the President said that Apple employs 23,000 Kenyans all working from Nairobi.

He told delegates that during his trip to the United States in September 2023, Apple CEO Tim Cook told him that the tech giant employs about 23,000 Kenyans.

“The digital economy is delivering attractive opportunities for young people, to work for employers scattered across the world without having to leave their homes in Kenya,” Ruto noted.

“When I visited Silicon Valley last year, Apple’s Tim Cook informed me that his company now employs about 23,000 Kenyans, all working from Nairobi.”

Not too long after making the claim, Kenyans massively disagreed with the President wondering how he arrived at the figure, given the verifiable data on Apple employees worldwide.

Others resorted to tagging the Apple CEO Tim Cook on X, bringing the claim to his attention while also asking him to confirm it.

Tech analyst Kachwanya was among many Kenyans who broke down Ruto's claim, providing hard facts to counter the President.

He wrote: "Imagine that Apple employees in China where the iPhones are made are about 12,000 in 22 Chinese offices and 46 Apple Stores....Kenya does not have an Apple office, or a single Apple official store, just some dealers, in fact Apple does not have an office in Africa as a whole, leave alone that, they do not have any  verified Apple store in Africa."

"CCS Insight predicted that Apple will open its “first verified Apple store in an African country by 2026. Anyway, here we have a whole President of a Republic saying that Tim Cook told him that Apple has employed  about 23,000 Kenyans, roughly 14% of Apple work force!"

On her part, Carol Nyaga said, "Utter bollocks! Apple employs 22,000 ACROSS THE WHOLE OF EUROPE but somehow, 23,000 of its 164,000 staff are in Kenya?"

Photographer Marcus Olang simply needed answers, directly asking the Apple CEO to confirm Ruto's claims, writing, "Hello @tim_cook, hello @Apple. I’m an independent writer-photographer based in Nairobi, exploring a piece on the economic impact of non-Kenyan companies in the country. Seeking confirmation: Is it true that Apple has at least 23,000 Kenyans as employees? Looking forward."

Other Kenyans decided to get a little creative, sharing images of hawkers selling apples in the streets of Nairobi.

Apple employs about 160,000 people globally.

Following his U.S. roadshow which was meant to highlight the business and investment potential in Kenya's booming tech sector, President Ruto sparked debate after saying he had struck an agreement with Apple and other top Silicon Valley names, which would see these corporations give Kenyans digital jobs.

“I visited Google, Intel and Apple. All these companies are looking for online workers,” said Ruto then.

He added, "They want us to give them 100,000, 200,000 and 300,000 workers out of the Kenyan youth.”