Two well-known media personalities whose names bear an uncanny resemblance have been on each other's necks precisely because of the unusual accident that is their near-similar names.
Ciru Muriuki is a BBC journalist who has had stints at various media houses, including NTV, where she featured on The Trend, a brief stint at Hot 96 FM owned by Royal Media Services and K24.
However, Kenyans were introduced to Ciku Muiruri much earlier on Radio Africa's Kiss FM when she hosted a popular show dubbed Busted, that would catch cheating couples through a prank call by the presenter. She also had a regular column on NMG's Daily Nation that published a narrated version of the popular radio escapades.
It is the latter's decision to publicise her book, Love is But A Dream, which is an adaptation of the several episodes of her show, when Billionare Tob Cohen's murder was making headlines on September 14, that would pit the two against each other.
Ciku was accused of trying to use billionaire Tob Cohen's death to her advantage after posting on social media about how she had met and sold the businessman and his wife a copy of her book.
Netizens who were angered by her apparent selfishness descended on her brutally, but in the process also confused her for Ciru Muriuki.
Unable to take the criticism misdirected to her, Muriuki responded to the tweeps redirecting the anger to Muiruri.
On, Friday, September 27, after over a week, Muiruri came out to trash Muriuki for claiming that it was her fault that she was attacked online.
She unapologetically called Muriuki a “cry baby” for the drama that followed, going ahead to claim that the BBC journalist had made her career by using her name.
She posted, “I did my first radio show in 1998. In my many, many, many, years on the radio doing Busted etc. I have used my name. On my newspaper columns, I have used my name. On my book #LoveisButADream and all my social media pages, I have used my name. Someone comes onto the scene many, many, many years later, has and uses a name similar to mine and now cries victim every time she is mistaken for me.”
Muiruri also revealed that while the two of them worked at Radio Africa, Muriuki was forced to use her English name so as not to be confused with her.
Murikui posted a hilarious reaction to the former Busted host's attack.
"Hehehe looks like I have to ask my mother to rename me so that I don’t “ride on someone’s name”," before adding "As in, it’s MY name but I copied you?"
