First Daughter Charlene Ruto has shared some nuggets of wisdom with Kenyans online about the culture of complaining and blaming leaders.
Charlene, who is no stranger to controversy, made the remarks on Friday, May 30, 2025, statements that appear to be targeted at Kenyans’ behaviour towards their leaders.
“We always complain about leaders and leadership, but are we good followers? Are we willing to partner with leaders to make the needed sacrifices, are we willing to onboard a little discomfort for the big picture?” Charlene quipped.
Business environment
“Are we fair to assume complex issues have simple fixes and straight-line solutions? As we ask leaders to listen, do we listen for the sake, listen to argue or listen to understand?”
She challenged Kenyans to improve their financial literacy and learn new business trends in the rapidly evolving global commerce environment.
“As you blame the global economy, are you improving your financial literacy or learning new business trends for your business to stay relevant?” Charlene posed.
“You can never be a great leader until you understand the secrets of submission. Blame game is not a strategy.”
The remarks come just days after Charlene observed that Africa has inherited a generation that is angry, deeply hurt and emotionally charged.
Call to action
Charlene, who has taken an active role in organising talks with the youth across the country, indicated that the tensions witnessed in the present day are a call to action for leaders to flip the script in the manner they engage the youth.
“The more I interact with young people across Africa and champion for more integrational dialogues, it has become vividly clear that we have inherited a generation that is deeply hurt, angry, emotionally charged, and tension remains at a constant high.
“It is a call to action for all of us to flip the script on how we engage with young people and create more safe spaces for them to share their ideas, stories, expectations and make them part of the problem-solving journey,” she said.
In her statement, she equally urged young people to embrace civility in their interactions with their leaders, noting that there is a need to create safe spaces where the youth can express their expectations and share their stories and ideas.
The First Daughter has been at the forefront of facilitating dialogue between the youth and leaders. In 2024, she urged the youth to join X Spaces to debate with his father, President William Ruto, after the invasion of parliament by protesters.
