Biography
Birthday: December 21, 1966
Age: 58 years.
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
Full Name: William Samoei Arap Ruto
Birth Place: Uasin Gishu County
Top Seat: President Of Kenya (2022-2027)
Ideology: Hustlers, Bottom Up
Founder/Co-Founder: United Democratic Movement
DP William Ruto Summary
William Ruto was a brilliant student from the beginning and continues to be so today. He is the first Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, a position that is similar to that of a vice president, and has been engaged in Kenyan politics. Before entering politics, he worked as a teacher, and it appears that the politician was excellent at his job and acquired a lot of respect in that field.
Ruto first entered politics when he began advocating for ‘KANU’ presidential candidate Daniel arap Moi. This campaign was not only a huge success, but it also demonstrated the political abilities of this leader.
Interested? Also Read: Interesting facts about former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
His ability to lead helped him gain election to numerous government roles. Throughout his political career, he has encountered numerous challenges and has been accused of numerous wrongdoings. Several criminal proceedings against him are still pending at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
However, this has had no effect on his popularity among the general public, who have always backed him. He was a member of the committee in charge of constitutional revisions. He is now unattached to any ministry and continues to serve as Kenya’s Deputy President. Continue reading to learn more about this leader, his works, and accomplishments.
Early Life of William Ruto
On December 21, 1966, he was born in the Kamagut district of Kenya’s Uasin Gishu county to Daniel and Sarah Cheruiyot. Ruto received his primary education at a Kamagut primary school before enrolling at Eldoret’s “Wareng Secondary School.” Ruto enrolled in the ‘Kapsabet High School’ in Nandi to pursue his A-level education after completing his O-level education.
Later, he joined the ‘University of Nairobi’, where he enrolled for a bachelor’s degree. He specialized in subjects such as Zoology and Botany, as a part of this course. He graduated in 1990, and topped his class for which he was offered a scholarship to pursue his master’s degree at the same university.
In 1991, he enrolled for an MSc at the university, but a year later, he postponed the course for other engagements.
Political Journey of William Ruto
- In 1992, he joined the party ‘Kenya African National Union’ (KANU), in their election campaign to support the party’s founder, Daniel Arap Moi.
- He was a candidate of the ‘Kenya African National Union’ (KANU) and entered the political sphere of Kenya, after he was appointed as a Member of Parliament for the Eldoret North constituency, in the year 1997.
- In 2002, he was elected as the Assistant Minister of Home Affairs, and in the same year, he was again elected to the Parliament.
- This leader became the Secretary General of ‘Kenya African National Union’ (KANU) party, in the year 2005.
- William announced in the year 2006, that he would contest the Presidential elections, which was to commence the next year. However, this decision of the leader was not supported by his ‘KANU’ comrades. So, he tried to file the candidature from the ‘Orange Democratic Movement’ (ODM), but failed to get a nomination.
- In 2007, William parted ways with the ‘Kenya African National Union’ (KANU) party and resigned from its secretarial post.
- In the presidential elections of 2007, there were differences in the decision as the election commission announced that the ‘National Rainbow Coalition’ candidate Mwai Kibaki as the president, while the exit polls showed another Kenyan politician and candidate for the presidential election, Raila Odinga, as the winner.
- However, Kibaki was elected as the President of Kenya and soon after, both Kibaki and Odinga came to a mutual understanding and decided to form a coalition cabinet.
- The coalition cabinet was finally formed in 2008 and William Ruto was elected as its Agricultural Minister.
- This political leader was shifted to the Higher Education Ministry from the Ministry of Agriculture in the year 2010.
- In 2011, the politician stepped down from his responsibilities as a minister, but he continued to be a Member of Parliament. The same year, this leader completed his Masters course in Environmental Science.
- The ‘Law Society of Kenya’ (KSK) blacklisted some individuals on charges of corruption in the year 2012, and asked the public not to vote for the ones cited in the list. Although Ruto’s name was in the list he managed to get a huge number of votes the next year, when he was a running mate to the current Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
- Ruto along with Kenyatta formed the coalition party named ‘Jubilee Alliance’, in order to contest the presidential election jointly.
- In the 2013 Presidential Elections, Uhuru Kenyatta was voted as the President and William Ruto was elected as the Deputy President of Kenya.
Milestones
- William Ruto and Rachel Chebet are married since 1991. They knew each other since their college days, way before tying the knot. The couple has been blessed with six children since then.
- In 2009, he was allegedly blamed to have unlawfully sold maize, which belonged to the government. However, all these allegations were nullified by the deputy speaker of the Parliament.
- It is said that William has huge number of shares in the insurance company ‘Amaco Insurance’.
- He was accused of being involved in planning and plotting against president Kibaki, as a result of which violence broke out in the elections and the Criminal Court asked him to be summoned. The political leader also has many criminal charges against him.
