“No Lobbyist Can Rescue President Ruto’s Image — Only the Discipline of Good Governance and the Legitimacy of Ethical Leadership Can”

By Professor Peter Ndiang’ui, Fort Myers, Florida.
President William Ruto’s administration is reportedly spending millions of shillings in taxpayers’ money on lobbyists in Washington, D.C., to improve its international image. This is not only wasteful; it is an insult to Kenyans struggling to survive under his rule. It reflects a government that prioritizes propaganda abroad over reform at home.

Let us be clear: no lobbyist, no PR firm, and no carefully scripted speech can rescue a government drowning in blood, corruption, and betrayal.

For two years, Kenyans have watched with deepening disillusionment as the presidency became obsessed with international visibility while neglecting domestic responsibility. While the nation bleeds, its leader chases photo opportunities abroad, confusing symbolic appearances with substantive governance. History will not recall this era for reform or visionary leadership. It will recall the silencing of dissent, the erosion of public trust, and the tragic spectacle of a president who imagined that foreign public relations could conceal the rot consuming the state from within.

What Will Ruto Tell the World?

Despite strong opposition from Kenyans at home and abroad, reliable sources confirm that Ruto still plans to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 9, 2025, in New York. But what credibility does he bring to the podium?

• Human rights? His government abducts young people, dumps bodies in forests, and silences grieving families with fear. Mothers searching for missing sons are warned into silence by the very forces meant to protect them.
• Democracy? Police shoot protesters in the legs, maiming a generation whose only “crime” is demanding accountability. Their scars are living testaments to a state that fears its citizens.
• Governance? From the fertilizer subsidy mess to opaque fuel import deals, his administration reeks of scandal. Kenyans cannot afford maize flour, yet corruption flows like lifeblood through their government.
• Security? Al-Shabaab militants breach Mandera, killing civilians, overrunning security posts, and crippling infrastructure. Even more alarming are reports of incursions by Juba forces in Mandera, raising the risk of a border crisis. Instead of paying lobbyists to clean his image, Ruto should be fortifying Kenya’s borders and protecting his people.

If Ruto takes the podium at UNGA, the world must understand: his words will not reflect Kenya’s reality. They will reflect illusions crafted by paid lobbyists and expensive propagandists.

The Diaspora Speaks the Truth

Kenyans abroad do not need lobbyists to tell their story. We are informed, engaged, and unafraid to speak the truth. We remain deeply connected to our homeland through family, friends, remittances, and daily conversations. But the reality we carry is grim.

Under Ruto, Kenya has slid deeper into authoritarianism, corruption, and state brutality. These are not rumors but lived realities—captured in mobile phone footage, documented by citizen reporters, and echoed in the cries of grieving families.

The diaspora has a unique vantage point. We compare governance abroad with betrayal at home. We know what accountability looks like. And we refuse to allow lobbyists to distort Kenya’s story in international capitals. No glossy brochure, no Capitol Hill dinner, and no UN cocktail reception can erase what Kenyans endure every day.

Lobbyists Cannot Outrun the Truth.

Ruto’s government may believe that contracts in Washington can shield it from accountability. But in today’s interconnected world, lies collapse quickly.

The blood of abducted youth cannot be concealed. The anguish of mothers driven from food markets by soaring prices cannot be muted. The wounds of peaceful protesters, shot and scarred for demanding justice, cannot be erased. However polished the rhetoric, deception inevitably unravels before the gaze of a discerning world.You cannot whitewash a crisis of legitimacy. You cannot lobby away the truth. When a government invests more in perception than in reform, it reveals weakness, not strength.

A Moral Betrayal

Beyond futility, these lobbying contracts are immoral. Every dollar spent polishing Ruto’s image is stolen from a Kenyan classroom without teachers, a clinic without medicine, or a village without clean water.

That same dollar could have bought textbooks in Turkana, malaria drugs in Kilifi, or food relief in Kibera. Instead, it funds talking points in Washington, drafted by consultants who have never set foot in Mathare or Garissa.

At a time when families are tightening their belts under record inflation, the government is tightening its grip on vanity. This is not leadership but betrayal. Leadership is about sacrifice, service, and responsibility. Lobbying is about self-preservation—and Ruto has chosen the latter.

Kenya’s Image Problem is Leadership

Kenya’s problem is not its image—it is its leadership. We are a resilient, innovative, and hardworking people. Kenyans survive impossible odds daily, sustained by courage and faith. The rot lies not in the citizens but in those who abuse power.

If Ruto truly seeks international respect, he must earn it at home. Reputation follows governance, not the other way around. If his administration fights corruption, protects rights, strengthens institutions, and relieves suffering, Kenyans themselves will tell that story—for free. Good governance markets itself.

But if lies, looting, and repression continue, Kenyans at home and abroad will dismantle every paid-for narrative with relentless truth.

A Call to the International Community

To President Ruto, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, and others betting on lobbyists: you are not fooling Washington, Brussels, or New York. You are insulting Kenyans.

And to the United Nations:

If Ruto speaks at UNGA, remember that his victims cannot. We in the diaspora will be there, demonstrating, telling the truth, and standing with human rights champions in the Stand Up Campaign against state abuse. Remember the abducted youth, the shot protesters, the hungry families, and the terrorized border communities—especially in Mandera.

Kenya does not need more speeches. It needs accountability. It does not need image campaigns. It needs reform.

The Bottom Line

History will not remember glossy brochures or expensive dinners in Washington. It will remember the blood of the young, the silence of the hungry, and the arrogance of a president who chose vanity over service.

President Ruto still has a choice: confront the rot within his administration or waste millions on lobbyists who cannot save him. He must fix Kenya’s problems or watch his legacy collapse under betrayal.

Time is running out. Good governance is his only salvation. Nothing else.

DISCLAIMER

This article by Professor Peter Ndiang’ui reflects independent political analysis and commentary intended to promote democratic dialogue. The views expressed are based on publicly available information, historical records, and the constitutional right to critique public leadership. They do not constitute an accusation of criminal guilt but a call for accountability, integrity, and ethical governance. The Diaspora Times upholds freedom of expression while affirming respect for all individuals mentioned.