Social media is already awash with memes and outright narratives mocking President William Ruto. Should legacy media join that fray? On January 15, The Star did just that.
For nearly two years, President Ruto has been derisively called Zakayo, after the hated tax collector in the New Testament. Today, Ruto is Kasongo, a Lingala word that can mean “forgetting quickly”, which was popularised in a 1977 love song by Orchestra Super Mazembe.
Mara Kasongo this, Kasongo that. Enter The Star.
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi recently hogged the airwaves with the bombshell that his son was last year abducted by the National Intelligence Service. And that the son was not released until President Ruto directly intervened.
That story was a bombshell because it suggested that despite repeated denials by various government agencies, the state has been actively involved in the much-condemned spate of abductions that started with the Gen Z revolt in June 2024. It also suggested that the President knew about it.
The Star posted a quote, attributed to Muturi, under its Facebook handle: “I have personally suffered as my son was abducted, leaving my family in turmoil. I have not received any answers as to why my son was abducted, held incommunicado, and no answers were given for the ordeal.”
The Star then immediately juxtaposed Muturi’s statement with President Ruto’s: “We join the family, friends, and the legal fraternity in mourning the loss of Senior Counsel Judy Thongori, an exceptional advocate and champion for justice. Her dedication to family law and human rights touched many lives and left a lasting impact on our society.”
The Star didn’t explain the latter quote. It didn’t need to.
The statement by Muturi, Kenya’s immediate former Attorney General, criticised the government’s human rights violations. The President’s statement, purporting to praise human rights and family law, was clearly a mockery of Muturi’s. The Star was mocking the President.
Enter citizen journalism, reactions by readers. The first comment by one Mutinda Wamuthembwa called it out hilariously: “the intern editor is back!”
