Ciru Muriuki blasts Ruto for gaslighting Kenyans after drawing comparison to Japan
President William Ruto’s recent remarks during his trip to Japan have sparked sharp criticism from media personality Ciru Muriuki, who accused him of gaslighting Kenyans with his comparison between Japan’s progress and Kenya’s challenges.
In his reflection, shared online, Ruto praised Japan’s vision, discipline, and prosperity, noting how the country’s infrastructure and order impressed him. He went on to pose a question to Kenyans:
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“Every time I travel abroad, as I recently did to Japan, I am struck by what vision, discipline and high ambition can achieve. I see their order, infrastructure, prosperity, and I ask, why not Kenya? Why not us?”
His words, however, did not sit well with Ciru Muriuki, who immediately voiced her frustration.
Gaslighting, I have never experienced
Responding via her Instagram stories on Friday, August 29, 2025, Ciru Muriuki said the president’s comments felt dismissive of the realities ordinary Kenyans face daily.
“I am going to share something in the next story because it makes me hot… na sikasiriki pekee yangu. There are levels to gaslighting, and this is a level I have never experienced, and I have been gaslit by the best gaslighters,” she said.
She emphasised that Ruto’s “why not Kenya” reflection ignored the fact that Kenyans continue to grapple with harsh economic conditions, runaway taxes, and governance shortcomings that prevent the country from reaching the very standards he admires abroad. “‘Why not Kenya?’ mhm… I am hot,” she said, underlining her anger at what she termed a tone-deaf statement.
Muriuki further explained that, while leadership should inspire hope, comparisons to developed nations often ring hollow when citizens feel weighed down by policy decisions that affect their livelihoods. To her, asking “Why not Kenya?” without addressing the root causes of mismanagement and inefficiency was nothing short of insulting.
Ruto’s statement was intended to highlight the potential of Kenya to rise to the same level of development as countries like Japan. But Muriuki’s response echoed the frustrations of many Kenyans who feel that leadership ought to focus less on admiration and more on concrete solutions. For Muriuki, the president’s words were not motivational. They were a painful reminder of the gap between promise and reality.
