William Ruth
William Samoei Arap Ruto ( Kamagut, Kenya, December 21, 1966 ) is a Kenyan politician, elected president of his country in the 2022 Kenyan general election. Previously, he had been the Vice President of Kenya since 2013, under the presidency of Uhuru Kenyatta, within the Jubilee Coalition. Precisely, as such vice president, he had already held the position of president between October 5 and 8, 2014 while Kenyatta was in The Hague.
William Ruto | |
|---|---|
 Ruto in 2014 | |
| President-elect of Kenya | |
| Assuming office 30 August 2022 | |
| Deputy | Rigatoni Gachagua (elect) |
| Succeeding | Uhuru Kenyatta |
| Deputy President of Kenya | |
Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 9 April 2013 | |
| President | Uhuru Kenyatta |
| Preceded by | Kalonzo Musyoka (Vice President) |
| Minister for Higher Education | |
| In office 21 April 2010 – 19 October 2010 | |
| President | Mwai Kibaki |
| Prime Minister | Raila Odinga |
| Succeeded by | Hellen Jepkemoi Sambili (acting) |
| Minister of Agriculture | |
| In office 17 April 2008 – 21 April 2010 | |
| President | Mwai Kibaki |
| Prime Minister | Raila Odinga |
| Preceded by | Kipruto Rono Arap Kirwa |
| Succeeded by | Margret Nyambura |
| Minister of Home Affairs | |
| In office 30 August 2002 – December 2002 | |
| President | Daniel Toroitich arap Moi |
| Preceded by | George Saitoti |
| Succeeded by | Moody Awori |
| Member of Parliament for Eldoret North | |
| In office 1998–2013 | |
| Preceded by | Reuben Chesire |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto 21 December 1966 Kamagut, Kenya |
| Political party |
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| Spouse(s) | Rachel Chebet (m. 1991) |
| Children | 7 |
| Education | The University of Nairobi (BSc, MSc, Ph.D.) |
| Website | Official website |
His experience in the politics of his country is extensive. Before becoming Vice President and President, he had already been Minister of Foreign Affairs (between August and December 2002), of Agriculture (April 17, 2008 - April 21, 2010), and of Higher Education (April 21, 2010 - 19 October 2010). He was also the Secretary General of KANU, the previous ruling political party, and a Member of Parliament, elected for the North Eldoret district (between December 1997 and January 2013). After defeating Reuben Chesire, he won his seat in the 1997 Kenyan General Election.
Education and early years
Ruto was born on December 21, 1966, in Kamagut, Uasin Gishu County. His parents were Daniel Cheruiyot and Sarah Cheruiyot. He studied at the Kerotet Primary School, the Wareng Secondary School, and at the Kapsabet Male Institute, in Nandi County, one of the most prestigious schools in Kenya, from which a good part of the political class of the country. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany and Zoology in 1990 from the University of Nairobi. In 2011 he obtained a Master's degree in science from the same university, with a thesis on Plant Ecology. In 2012 she began her doctoral studies, also at the University of Nairobi. After several setbacks, he was finally able to complete it on December 21, 2018. He has written various scientific articles, including "Plant Species Diversity and Composition of Two Wetlands in the Nairobi National Park, Kenya", published in the Journal of Wetlands Ecology no. 6 (2012). While in graduate school, he was an active member of the Christian Union and was also the choir director at the University of Nairobi. It was through his leadership in religious activities at the university that he met President Daniel Arap Moi, who introduced him to Kenyan politics and encouraged him to run in the 1992 Kenyan General Election.
Political career
After graduating in Biology and Zoology from the University of Nairobi in 1990, Ruto worked as a teacher between 1990 and 1992 in the North Rift Valley, where he led a local church choir, the African Inland Church (AIC). In 1992, he was secretary of Youth for Kanu '92 (YK'92), a youth organization that supported the re-election of President Daniel Arap Moi in the 1992 Kenyan General Election. From this position, he learned the workings of Kenyan politics and is believed to have already started to accumulate money. After the 1992 elections, in which Moi was re-elected, the YK'92 was dissolved by Moi and Ruto tried to compete for different positions within the Kenya African National Union, Moi's party, albeit unsuccessfully.
In the 1997 elections, Ruto won a seat in the Kenyan Parliament for the North Eldoret district, taking it against all odds from outgoing MP Reuben Chesire, who was Moi's and KANU's preferred candidate.
In January 2006, Ruto publicly said he would stand in the 2007 Kenyan General Election. His statement was condemned by some of his colleagues, including former president Moi. Ruto tried to present himself to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) as a presidential candidate but his aspiration did not prosper.
The presidential election of December 2007 ended in controversial events. Kenya's electoral commission declared Mwai Kibaki the winner, while polls clearly showed Raila Odinga as the winner. The latter and his party, the ODM, claimed victory, while Kibaki was hastily sworn in as president, after which Kenya was plunged into a violent political crisis. Finally, this could be resolved when Kibaki and Odinga agreed to form a government, sharing power. In said coalition cabinet, which was announced on April 13, 2008, and established on April 17 of that same year, Ruto was appointed Minister of Agriculture.
On April 21, 2010, Ruto was transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Higher Education. On August 24, 2011, William Ruto was relieved of his ministerial posts, remaining simply as a parliamentarian. He joined with Uhuru Kenyatta to form the Jubilee Coalition for the 2013 presidential election.
On October 6, 2014, Ruto was appointed Deputy President of Kenya, while President Uhuru Kenyatta appeared at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The case at the International Criminal Court
In December 2010, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced that six people, including Ruto, would be investigated for their involvement in the violence unleashed after the August 2007 elections67. Ruto was accused of planning and organizing crimes against supporters of President Kibaki's National Unity Party. He is charged with crimes against humanity. On January 23, 2012, the International Criminal Court upheld the charges against Ruto and Joshua Cantó, in a case that also implicated Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura Henry Kosgey, and General Mohammed Hussein Ali.
Controversies
Forest Land scandal
In 2004, William Ruto was arrested on charges of defrauding the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), the Kenyan State Oil Company, out of vast amounts of money through dubious contracts, but was released on bail. The Constitutional Court suspended the further hearing of the case, due to Ruto's claims that the accusation against him had been designed for political purposes. However, the High Court cleared the way for criminal charges against the Higher Education Minister for the alleged sale to the Kenya Pipeline Company Ltd. of land in the Ngong Forest. In 2011 he was acquitted in 2020, as his relationship with President Uhuru Kenyatta faltered amid pressure from the president for a war on corruption, police reopened investigations into the case.
Corn scandal
In early 2009, after the parliamentary debate, the corn scandal broke out, Ruto was accused by Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale of illegally selling corn. Ruto attributed these accusations to fabrications by "political enemies" of his.
New Constitution
Ruto and Odinga, both from the Orange Democratic Movement of the government then in power, disagreed on the proposed draft constitution. Ruto rejected the draft in the constitutional referendum, arguing that some of its clauses were inadequate, while Odinga and Kibaki campaigned for the new body constitution.
