Eric Karuti
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Psychologist| Writer| Research Officer| Chief Advisor - KUSO| The Indomitable
Articles by Eric Karuti
Employment claims are rising: Is your business insured? The case for Employment Practices Liability Cover in Kenya
Employment disputes are an increasingly significant source of legal and financial risk for employers. Claims arising from unfair termination, breaches of fair labour practices, contract violations or failure to comply with statutory obligations can expose businesses to costly compensation awards, legal fees, reputational damage and operational disruption. This raises an important question: can employers insure themselves against employment-related claims?
Meru’s miraa law risks hurting the industry it seeks to protect
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Meru’s Miraa law risks hurting the industry it seeks to protect
Miraa is one of the world's most time-sensitive agricultural commodities. Unlike most perishables, its value depends not only on freshness but also on the rapid decline of its active compounds after harvesting. Every hour counts, making speed and efficiency the lifeblood of the miraa trade. The Meru County Miraa Promotion Act, 2025, was introduced with commendable goals: dismantling exploitative cartels, improving quality standards, promoting farmer welfare and bringing order to the value chain.
Men’s mental health key
June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and it comes at a time when conversations about men and boys often generate more heat than light. Some argue that men still hold enough social advantages that their struggles are overstated. Others insist the boychild has been completely neglected. But if we want an honest picture of where many young men are today, we should pay attention to the rise of the manosphere.
How Africa and the Global South Risk Failing Their Brightest Minds And Why Rethinking Equity Is Urgent
Imagine an eight-year-old finishing high school in 18 months, earning a Bachelor's degree at eleven, a Master’s degree at twelve, and a doctorate in quantum physics at fifteen. That’s Laurent Simons, the Belgian-Dutch prodigy who recently captured the attention and imagination of the world and is currently pursuing his second PhD in AI-powered medicine with the ambition of extending human life.
The hard truth about leaving power and why it matters
We often ask why leaders cling to power as if it’s just stubbornness or greed. Why not step aside when your time is up ? Why fight the inevitable? I once watched a friend lose power and it wasn’t even in politics. He had been the dining hall and kitchen captain at our high school. For a year in power, he walked differently. Teachers called him into meetings about meal schedules and students listened carefully when he spoke.
ESG compliance critical in navigating complex medical negligence claims
The discourse around Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) compliance has in recent years moved beyond the confines of corporate boardrooms and sustainability reporting. Increasingly, ESG requirements have reached sectors traditionally governed by regulatory and professional standards. One of these sectors is healthcare.
Why workers deserve interest on delayed salaries
When an employee shows up every day and lives up to their job description, fulfilling their duties and meeting expectations, the agreement is simple. Labor, effort, time and skills in exchange for timely compensation. Even yet, salaries and wages are delayed in many workplaces as if they were optional obligations rather than binding commitments. This practice is often normalized or brushed aside as a temporary inconvenience. And clearly, it is neither. The impact of delayed pay is not abstract.
The curse of lifestyle inflation and vanity expansion on Kenyan youths and the economy
There is an insidious epidemic running through Kenya’s newly rising youth - particularly those who excel in tech, business, 'deals', entertainment or corporate roles with c-suite compensation. Our newest crop of young professionals and top earners, many of whom are first generation wealth builders, face a unique psychological burden. And it manifests as a subtle yet an undeniable inability to understand the consequences of their choices and actions due to financial privilege. Its name is affluenza.
Action beyond the ballot: We must rethink, retool Nairobi for the future
While devolution has corrected decades of overcentralisation and brought power closer to the people elsewhere, Nairobi has remained politically volatile. Since the advent of devolution in March 2013, Nairobi has experienced tumultuous leadership transitions every five years. Consequently, service delivery and long-term planning have been impacted, with Kenyans bearing the brunt of these disruptions. By any measure, Nairobi is an extraordinary city.
Action beyond the ballot: We must rethink, retool Nairobi for the future
While devolution has corrected decades of overcentralisation and brought power closer to the people elsewhere, Nairobi has remained politically volatile. Since the advent of devolution in March 2013, Nairobi has experienced tumultuous leadership transitions every five years. Consequently, service delivery and long-term planning have been impacted, with Kenyans bearing the brunt of these disruptions. By any measure, Nairobi is an extraordinary city.
Eric Karuti | Substack
Psychologist. Columnist. Research Officer. I write with a sharp pen and a steady pulse on what’s breaking men, systems, and silence. This Substack is for people who think deeply, lead honestly, and are tired of pretending. Facebook @eric_karuti LinkedIn +1 FollowMessage
Kenya needs soul-searching in first world drive
If countries were people, Kenya would be a gifted, charismatic young adult full of promise, confidence and raw ability but wrestles with the discipline and consistency required to become who they know they could be. Shaped by a difficult upbringing that taught her survival before structure, she exudes unmatched resilience, beauty and creativity-qualities that have acquainted her to the allure of success.
AI in integrity of 2027 Kenya polls
Kenya’s electoral history is one that has been marked by both triumphs and turbulence. While the country has made significant strides in entrenching democratic governance, its elections have often been overshadowed by disputes, credibility issues and at times, post-election instability. As the nation looks towards the 2027 General Elections, it is imperative that every tool available to strengthen transparency and integrity be deployed.
Implications of Conflict of Interest Act for legal practitioners in Kenya
The enactment of the Conflict of Interest Act 2025 represents a fundamental shift in Kenya’s legal and ethical architecture. Assented to on July 30 and brought into force on August 19, the law repeals the Public Officer Ethics Act and establishes a consolidated statutory framework to regulate and manage conflicts of interest within the public sector.
The Indomitable
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11 Things people say to you when your father dies
Few blows in life land as cruelly and as permanently as the loss of a father. It is a rupture that echoes through your bones and rearranges your sense of self and identity. From the on you start measuring life in 'before' and 'after' he died. Thanks for reading The Indomitable! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. In fact, the Italians have a little joke: they say that the world is so hard a man must have two fathers to look after him, and that's why they have godfathers.
An open letter to employers, HR managers (HRMs) and recruitment agencies
Eric Karuti in 2024 Dear Employers, Human Resource Managers (HRMs) and Recruitment Agencies. I hope this finds you either minding your own business, making plans for new hires, or just thinking about how to make the world a better place. I’m taking the liberty of addressing you from here for two reasons.
Why being ‘apolitical’ is a privilege our country can no longer afford
Often, I interact with swank people, professionals in the corporate world who tell me smugly, “I am apolitical, please...I don’t do politics at all.” Then I am left wondering whether to weep or laugh out loud whenever I see the same people post glamorous photos enjoying serene walks with family, jogging or cycling in public spaces like the lush Karura forest.
Why being ‘apolitical’ is a privilege our country can no longer afford
Often, I interact with swank people, professionals in the corporate world who tell me smugly, “I am apolitical, please...I don’t do politics at all.” Then I am left wondering whether to weep or laugh out loud whenever I see the same people post glamorous photos enjoying serene walks with family, jogging or cycling in public spaces like the lush Karura forest.
Pre-teens don’t belong in boarding schools
There’s no good reason why we should continue condemning innocent children to the insular world of boarding schools. And for the record, am not writing this from an ivory tower.Of the sixteen years in the 8.4.4 system, I’ve been a boarder for the first twelve.I was barely seven years old when I saw my dad walk out of the School gate leaving me amongst strangers-at a time when I was a stranger even to myself.The feeling of abandonment has stuck with me.In this,I know I’m not alone.
The Unknown Genocide of the Black African Giants
There was once a deliberate systematic plot to annihilate the high races in West Africa and East Africa. Most 18th century Fulani, Senegalese and Tutsi rose to an average height of 7ft 2 “. The highest rose to 8ft2 ′ ′ among the Tutsi and Nuer of South Sudan. The first eugenic operation was eliminating these specimens by syphilis murder, wars, defertilization, and outright inciting racial division with shorter tribes.
To save marriage, we must make bride price voluntary-or refundable!
Slowly but surely, marriage is becoming an endangered institution in Kenya and many other places across the known world. In the wake of growing awareness around mental health and evidence of toxic relationships, financial constraints, changing gender roles and personal agency, many youths -especially young men, are increasingly questioning whether dowry as a pathway to marriage still makes sense.
Why hustle culture is killing the youth
‘Rise and hustle’. ‘Sleep is for the weak’. ‘Every minute you're not working, someone else is winning’. ‘The end justifies the means’. These are not fringe slogans of Silicon Valley dreamers but commonplace exhortations inundating our screens, embroidered into apparel, and etched into the minds of youths-calling them to action. Urgent action.
Gen Zs need support to overcome identity crisis in an inflexible world
For quite some time now, the term Gen Z has attracted significant infamy around it. The obvious thing is that no generation has been as misunderstood, and their actions collectively misconstrued this much before. We are talking about a generation that speaks one language at school, another at home, and a third one on social media while listening to playlists that reflect five continents.
Legal service costs versus access to justice
At the heart of the right to access justice is the right to legal representation. The lawyers’ role in the legal process, therefore cannot be understated. Lawyers deserve to be compensated for their work because the law practice is a career just like any other. However, Wanjiku should have the comfort of knowing that she can access justice and hire lawyers just as easily as anyone else.
Mind artists’ mental status Original
Ernest Hemingway, Achieng Obura, Virginia Woolf, Papa Dennis, Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Creatives who faced mental health challenges and had difficult endings. In the annals of music is a macabre phenomenon, “Club 27”, a haunting group comprising some of the most celebrated and influential musicians who died at 27. Some by their own hands, others struggling with depression and alcoholism.
How integrative medicine can heal our nation
I tell you there will be nothing from heaven. We must all work hard...to save ourselves from poverty, ignorance and disease,” reasonably posited Jomo Kenyatta to Kenyans at Independence. Sixty years later, Kenya has made impressive steps in the fight against poverty and ignorance but disease (dynamic, unpredictable and dependent on human behaviour) continues to undermine our prevention, eradication and elimination efforts.
Monitor, nurture saplings
On December 21 last year, President William Ruto marked his 56th birthday by launching a tree restoration programme at Ngong Hills Forest to kick-start his plan of planting 15 billion trees by 2032. He planted 56 trees that day. Counties conducted similar functions that saw a total of 560,000 trees planted. Two months later, the sun is shining. One of the biggest threats to tree restoration is seedling mortality, mainly bred by lack of water and fed by heat stress.
After elections, now focus on the vital boda boda economy
The campaigns are over. The current fad is to talk about post-election economic focus. Be that as it may, the road transport sector through the operations of two- and three-wheelers—boda boda and tuktuk, or TTWs—presents itself as a portal of multiple opportunities, including but not limited to job creation, youth empowerment and GDP growth. This is attributable to its generous ability to create jobs for the skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled.
Why take care of yourself
So many years of education yet nobody teaches us how to listen to and love ourselves. Since childhood, society pushes us to be in a chronic state of fight or flight. Rush to school. Get excellent grades. Achieve. Perform. Be the best. But we are human beings, not machines. Our nervous system needs stillness, quiet, play and creativity. Google Trends says the number of searches for “self-care” has more than doubled since 2015.
How boda bodas, tuk tuks can grow Kenya's economy
In the political arena, the current fad is to talk about motor-cycle operators, commonly known as 'boda bodas', probably focusing on their numbers and how they can thrive as a business. Be that as it may, the road transport sector, through two- and three-wheeler operations presents itself as a portal of multiple opportunities, including job creation, youth empowerment and GDP growth. This is attributable to its generous ability to create jobs for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled individuals.
Time we ended depression at the workplace
The modern workplace is a volatile space, where dynamics of positive and negative energy seem to exist in extremes. And one of the most daunting yet subtle challenges employees face is work depression. WHO statistics show 1.9 million Kenyans are battling depression at different stages but most of the affected don’t seek help. Depression can have a significant impact on multiple areas of employee performance. All that are key to business.
For growth, let our youth bond with the farm
A 2016 World Bank report shows Kenya has the highest unemployment rate in East Africa with nearly one in every five citizens without a job, the majority of whom are young people, and a lot has been said and written about how to create more and better economic opportunities for them. Agriculture was devolved in 2013 but does not seem to receive its deserved attention.
Beware face mask hazard
What you need to know: Face masks are now a legal requirement in many public spaces worldwide. In major towns and cities you stumble on used face masks on the ground. Five years since the ban on single-use plastics was gazetted on February 28, 2017, we were doing quite well — until the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020. Face masks are now a legal requirement in many public spaces worldwide.
Hustle’, but at what cost?
There are many plausible explanations for the many cases of suicide and homicide among youth but one of the least mentioned is that they are under intense pressure to ‘hustle’ and shine. Today’s culture is saturated with articles, clever memes and podcasts that idolise terms like ‘grind’ and ‘hustle’. Almost everyone has a ‘side hustle’. Everybody is telling the youth to do more, stop complaining, not be lazy. In this 24/7/365 world, there’s no OFF switch. No downtime. There’s only the hustle.
Support single-mother students
Sometimes, a child is born to a parent who abdicates responsibility. Like seedlings smothered in the shade, both the child and remaining ‘parent’ have to grow. There’s an increase in the number of single-mother students in universities and a notably disturbing trend towards ‘baby mama’ and ‘baby daddy’ phenomenon. According to research, single student mothers are much less likely than their peers to complete college. Raising a child as a single mother is an uphill battle.
Detention of patients over unpaid hospital bills: A constitutional perspective
Detention of patients by hospitals over unpaid hospital bills has become a very common phenomenon. Hospitals justify this practice on the basis that once they release patients it is impossible to follow up the unpaid bills. This phenomenon is a true depiction of the sad effects of ever-escalating cost of medical services combined with the dwindling financial fortunes of the average Kenyan. Lack of a national medical health insurance scheme has ensured that the situation remains unchanged.
Make education fair to students with disabilities
Being exceptional, gifted or having a disability can be one of the most marginalising factors. Disability is ubiquitous. Unfortunately, many children with disability never go past primary or secondary school. Unicef estimates that 90 per cent of children with disabilities in developing countries have never received any form of education. And when they go to school, a curriculum that hasn’t been adapted to their needs may shortchange them. Once enrolled, they’re more likely to drop out than the rest.
We must mind mental state of college students
What you need to know: The students are in a very volatile phase of their life, where the dynamics of positive and negative are extreme. Matriculating at college is a life-altering experience; an emotional rollercoaster. Mental illness among students in tertiary institutions is increasingly becoming a big issue. According to Kenya Mental Health Policy 2015- 2030, one in four young adults in the country struggles with mental illness though many of them do not seek help.
The Demon of Depression and The Pain of Suicide
Eric Karuti · Follow 3 min read · Jan 27, 2019 -- There are words like ‘orphan’, ‘widow’ and ‘widower’ in all languages. But there is no word in any language to describe a parent who loses a child. How does one describe the pain of ‘ultimate bereavement!’, observes Neena Verma in her book A Mother’s Cry. The statistics concerning suicide among young people in recent times are breaking records. The shockwaves are unequivocal and directly threaten development.
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