Ndegwa Njiru to Ruto: Trust isn’t demanded, it’s earned
By Faith Lagat, December 24, 2025Advocate Ndegwa Njiru has mounted a sharp critique of President William Ruto’s leadership style, arguing that public trust cannot be demanded but must be earned through tangible delivery.
In a post on X dated December 24, 2025, Njiru responded to remarks made by the president earlier this week in Baringo County, where Ruto lamented what he described as widespread scepticism among Kenyans.
Njiru framed the president’s concerns as a symptom of a deeper credibility problem, asserting that doubt among citizens reflects lived experiences rather than habitual pessimism. His comments have fuelled an ongoing public debate on whether the government’s economic promises are translating into meaningful change on the ground.
Njiru cites credibility gap
Njiru seized on the remarks to argue that skepticism is rooted in historical experience rather than cynicism. In his X post, he wrote: “When a president complains about doubt, what he’s really confessing is a credibility deficit. Kenyans aren’t doubting out of habit, rather out of memory. Memory of broken promises, shifting goalposts, and policies that punish the very people they were meant to help.”
Njiru also noted that public faith in leadership cannot be demanded but must be earned through consistent delivery, arguing that trust is built on proof rather than promises, and that doubt naturally thrives where tangible results are missing.
“Faith isn’t demanded; it’s earned. Moreover, leadership isn’t about demanding belief; it’s about delivering proof. And so far, the evidence is missing. Doubt thrives where delivery is absent, let that sink in him.”
The remarks resonate amid continued economic pressure. While inflation eased to about 4.5–4.6 percent toward the end of 2025 and GDP growth is projected at 4.5–5 percent, many households continue to struggle with high living costs and unemployment, particularly among the youth.
Ruto defends the bottom-up agenda
President Ruto made the remarks during the annual Kimalel Goat Auction and Baringo Cultural Festival on December 22, 2025, where he defended the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). Addressing residents and leaders, the president insisted that his flagship economic plan was neither political sloganeering nor empty rhetoric.
“Bottom up is not a slogan; it was not empty talk; it was a plan,” Ruto said, urging critics to revisit the Kenya Kwanza manifesto that secured him more than 7.2 million votes in the 2022 election. He pointed out that the document outlines ambitions to transition Kenya from a third-world to a first-world economy, including infrastructure expansion through initiatives such as the National Infrastructure Fund.
However, the president expressed frustration with what he termed persistent public doubt. “Those who have belief in this Kenya are very few. So many of them are doubting Thomases. When they hear something, they say it cannot happen,” Ruto said, invoking a biblical reference to skepticism.