The squealer of State House: Ruto's animal farm and his art of political, economic gaslighting

President William Ruto during the Groundbreaking for the construction of Narok International Airport project. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, there is a character named Squealer, a pig whose sole purpose is to serve as the regime’s chief propagandist. With a nimble command of language and a disregard for truth, Squealer convinces the other animals that their failing memories are in fact evidence of sheer progress, and that Napoleon, their leader, is the sole saviour from crises they never knew existed. He completely rewrites history, manipulates statistics, and turns the regime’s most blatant failures into triumphant success. Watching President William Ruto’s latest State of the Nation address and reflecting on his administration’s performance three years into his term, one cannot help but see a modern Squealer at work – manufacturing political crises and presenting himself as the sole figure capable of resolving them.

Dr Ruto’s governance style reads like a blend of the Squealer and Potemkin village metaphors. While Squealer distorts reality through words, a Potemkin village does so through appearances. The Potemkin metaphor refers to 1787, when Russian minister Grigory Potemkin allegedly built fake villages along Empress Catherine the Great’s route to create a false impression of prosperity. These villages’ superficial façades misled observers and passersby about their wealth and success. In Ruto’s administration, colourful speeches of infrastructure and selective economic indicators serve the same purpose like the Potemkin village illusion by masking the harsh realities most Kenyans are facing.