Weekly buzz: From diaspora to Ruto’s parenting advice and more
By Ascah Mwango, July 21, 2025It has been a whirlwind week in Kenya, and the headlines ran the gamut, one that combined heated political drama, calls for economic rebellion, moral scandals and ongoing tension between citizens and the state.
From Gachagua’s increasingly radical stance during his US tour to a lodge incident in Nairobi that left Kenyans both shocked and amused, the news cycle has offered no shortage of headlines worth revisiting.
Gachagua in US
In the United States, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has turned his ongoing tour into a political offensive aimed squarely at President William Ruto’s administration. While addressing Kenyans in Boston over the weekend, Gachagua appealed to the Kikuyu diaspora, urging them to stop contributing to Kenya’s economy through remittances and investments until what he called targeted oppression against their community ends.
“When you destroy this community, you destroy Kenya,” Gachagua said, claiming that President Ruto had launched a systematic economic war against Mt. Kenya businesspeople.
He accused the state of using the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and other regulatory bodies to cripple Kikuyu-owned enterprises under the guise of fighting corruption. He went further to allege that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had deployed over 40 agents to spy on him and his team abroad, a claim government officials have dismissed as political theatre.
Gachagua’s comments were not limited to economic sabotage. He also defended the controversial Cousin Movement, a unity platform he claims brings together Kikuyus, Luhyas, and Kisiis under one ideological umbrella.
While critics at home accuse him of preaching tribal politics on foreign soil, Gachagua insists he is building a patriotic front committed to justice and regional equity.
Ruto’s book on parenting
Back home, President William Ruto sparked a national parenting conversation.
Speaking during the consecration ceremony of Bishop Benjamin Kalanzo at the African Inland Church (AIC) Bomani in Machakos County on Sunday, July 20, 2025, Ruto warned parents against outsourcing discipline and moral guidance to state security officers.
“Police officers are trained to arrest criminals, not to raise your children,” the President said, urging Kenyan mothers and fathers to take charge of the values they instil in their homes.
At face value, the President’s comment may seem like a harmless call for parental responsibility. But it misses the broader picture, and that is where the frustration lies, according to critics who have had a field day with his remarks.
According to many, like lawyer and political commentator Willis Otieno, it is disingenuous for the head of state to chastise struggling parents without acknowledging the role his government plays in the very breakdown of the social fabric he now blames on poor parenting. Families are raising children in conditions of economic despair, insecurity, joblessness, failing schools, and skyrocketing living costs. These are not just parenting issues; they are policy failures.
Cheating gone wrong
Meanwhile, a sensational incident at a Nairobi lodge injected the week with shock and satire. Reports emerged of a couple who reportedly became physically stuck during intercourse.
Boniface Mwangi’s arrest
Tension continues to simmer following the arrest of activist Boniface Mwangi. Police say he was linked to violent demonstrations in July, including possession of tear gas and blank rounds. Mwangi and his supporters insist the charges are politically motivated.
This comes as President Ruto faces mounting pressure over his hardline stance on protests, including a controversial directive to police to shoot looters in the leg, a comment that opposition leaders like Kalonzo Musyoka have called grounds for impeachment.
Shakahola-like cult
In Kilifi County, police rescued four individuals, three women and a man, and recovered three bodies during a suspected cult-fasting incident in Chakama Forest. One victim may have died two days earlier. Two of the rescued had been reported missing in April and left behind six children, who remain unaccounted for. Authorities are treating the area as a crime scene while DCI conducts a full investigation
The chilling discovery was made on a remote five-acre piece of land, located just a few kilometres from Shakahola Forest, the site of Kenya’s deadliest cult massacre.
Coldplay concert drama
Across the Atlantic, a spicy moment at a Coldplay concert has gone viral globally and has become the highlight of this past week. Andy Byron, a CEO whose face was previously unknown to most of the country, found himself trending and not for his boardroom brilliance. While vibing at the concert in an affectionate moment with a woman next to him, the two appeared on the kiss cam while passionately canoodling. The crowd cheered. The internet? Not so much.
Within hours, it emerged that the woman was his HR executive and that the two were in a relationship not disclosed to the board. That one kiss sparked a wildfire. The internet sleuths did not rest.
Feeling the pressure, Byron officially resigned a few days later, stating that he was stepping down.