Deputy President William Ruto taking the oath of office on April 9, 2013. He rose from a humble background to become the second most powerful man in Kenya. Photo/BILLY MUTAI Nation Media Group
By GALGALO FAYO and BARNABAS BII
Posted Tuesday, April 9 2013 at 21:26
Posted Tuesday, April 9 2013 at 21:26
IN SUMMARY
- A teetotaller, the deeply religious Ruto was chairman of the university Christian Union choir and later patron of the Christian Union at a high school he taught briefly.
- Ruto, a charismatic politician was born in Kamagut farm in Uasin Gishu County on December 21, 1966. He grew up in poverty, running 10 kilometres barefoot everyday to Sambut Primary School.
“Our victory today in all manner of definition is a miracle. Ladies and gentlemen this afternoon I am lost for words.’’ These were William Ruto’s opening words at the Catholic University of East Africa hours after the Jubilee Coalition was declared the winner of the March 4 presidential race.
Deputy President William Kipchirchir Samoei arap Ruto, unlike president Uhuru Kenyatta, rose from a humble background to become the second most powerful man in Kenya.
He was so overwhelmed by this fairy tale journey that he broke down during a church service at Karen a day after the election results were announced, and again last Sunday, just two days to the inauguration.
President and deputy alike had to overcome their indictment by the International Criminal Court at the Hague on charges of crimes against humanity arising from the 2007 General Election to convince voters to elect them.
“I tell you for a fact, I go home and sleep, I do my business as usual. Deep inside my being I know those charges are fiction,” Mr Ruto responded during an interview with a local television station on the charges.
That was in keeping with a man who has cut the image of a hardened political mobiliser gifted in the powers of oration. A teetotaller, the deeply religious Ruto was chairman of the university Christian Union choir and later patron of the Christian Union at a high school he taught briefly.
His entry into politics was as accidental as they come. After graduating from the University of Nairobi in 1990 with a degree in Botany and Zoology, Mr Ruto had a brief stint as a teacher in the north Rift where he was also the head of choir at the local African Inland Church.
It was in this capacity that he said a moving prayer during a function attended by Kenya’s second President Daniel arap Moi, catching his eye.
Mr Ruto, a charismatic politician was born in Kamagut farm in Uasin Gishu County on December 21, 1966. He grew up in poverty, running 10 kilometres barefoot everyday to Sambut Primary School.
As a pupil he reportedly sold various merchandise like live chicken and peanuts along the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway to supplement family income.
“All that we know is that he continued supporting his parents by carrying out small business including selling eggs and hens,” said Ms Sarah Chemutai of Jua Kali market.
Mr Ruto later attended Wareng Secondary School, Eldoret and Kapsabet Boys High School — his dormitory was Kibiegen — where he led the Christian Union and was the Dining Hall captain. Colleagues describe him as a soft spoken and shy student who kept a low profile.
He taught at Sirgoi Secondary School and Kamagut Secondary School, where he met his wife Rachel Chebet, with whom he has six children.
“As a devoted African Inland Church believer, the late Reuben Chesire played critical role when the deputy president wedded his wife Rachel in 1991,” disclosed Ms Chemutai.
Retired President Moi would around this time seek to meet Mr Ruto, an encounter which changed the biologist’s fortune forever.
At 26, Mr Ruto was the founding organising secretary of Youth for Kanu 92 (YK92), a lobby of monied young men formed to drum up support for President Moi in the first multi-party General Election. The incumbent won against a fragmented opposition.
Mr Ruto plunged into politics in 1997 to become Kanu vice chairman for Eldoret North, with Mr Chesire as the chairman.
Mr Ruto was elected to Parliament in the second multiparty election in 1997, ousting Chesire, an ally of Moi.
Mr Ruto was subsequently appointed to the Cabinet in the last three months of the Moi government in 2002 after a rebellion by top Kanu leaders against the anointing of Uhuru Kenyatta as Moi’s preferred successor.
Mr Ruto stood with Mr Kenyatta and was by his side as he conceded the Presidency to Mr Mwai Kibaki after the General Election that year.
Mr Ruto became his own man when he successfully took on former President Moi in the run up to the 2007 polls for control of the Rift Valley voting bloc, which he delivered overwhelmingly to Raila Odinga’s ODM.
Two years earlier he teamed up with Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga to oppose the draft constitution. He was also opposed to the Constitution that Kenyans endorsed in August 2010. In all three instances former President Moi was on the opposite corner.
Mr Ruto was subsequently appointed Minister for Agriculture when the coalition Government was formed in 2008 before he was transferred to Higher Education after a maize exports scandal.
He was suspended from the Cabinet in October 2010 after the court ruled he had a case to answer over the fraudulent sale of land to the Kenya Pipeline Company for Sh272 million.
At the ministries, Mr Ruto distinguished himself as a stickler for details leading to progressive policies that stimulated agriculture growth and removed the two-year backlog on admissions to public universities through a double intake.
Mr Ruto is fighting another court battle over a 100-acre farm in Turbo, which Gilbert Adrian Muteshi — who claims to have been displaced in the post-election violence — accuses him of irregularly appropriating. Mr Ruto has denied any wrong doing.
“God turned every hurdle into a bridge,” said Mr Ruto during his acceptance speech at the Catholic University.On a normal working day, Mr Ruto leaves his house at half past five in the morning. He has his work cut out to lift fortunes of thousands of Kenyans living in poverty who see him as a point of reference.
gfayo@ke.nationmedia.co
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