William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 December 1966) is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected deputy president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. He previously served in three cabinet portfolios as the Minister for Home Affairs, the Minister of Agriculture and as Minister for Higher Education.
Ruto was elected Member of Parliament for Eldoret North constituency from 1997 to 2007 under the KANU, and from 2007 to 2013 through the ODM party. He was the Minister for Home Affairs in the Daniel arap Moi administration from August to December 2002.
Under the Mwai Kibaki administration, he was the Minister for Agriculture from 2008 to 2010 and Minister for Higher Education from April to October 2010. Ruto first contested for the presidency during the 2007 election, but lost to Raila Odinga on the ODM party primaries; together with Musalia Mudavadi, who finished second, he then supported the candidature of Odinga. He again ran for the presidency on the 2013 election, but withdrew his candidature in favour of Uhuru Kenyatta.
He was later nominated to run for the deputy presidency in the 2013 election under the United Republican Party, becoming the running mate of Uhuru Kenyatta from The National Alliance (TNA). He was re-elected to the deputy presidency under the Jubilee Party in the 2017 Kenyan general election. Following a political fallout, Kenyatta endorsed Raila Odinga as his preferred successor.
Ruto, now running under the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), defeated Odinga for the presidency in the 2022 election. While the election was largely described as fair by the African Union and other international missions, it was contested by Odinga's allies, who alleged electoral fraud. However, the Supreme Court of Kenya upheld the results, ruling that the allegations lacked sufficient evidence to invalidate the outcome.
President Ruto has elevated Kenya's geopolitical profile, positioning the country as a strategic partner for Western powers while championing pan-African interests. Under his leadership, Kenya became the first sub-Saharan African nation to be designated as a Major Non-NATO Ally by the United States. He is also an advocate for climate justice and global financial reform, chairing the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in 2023, which resulted in the Nairobi Declaration, a call for a global carbon tax and a more equitable international debt system.
Regionally, Ruto has played a key role as a mediator in East African conflicts, through the Nairobi Process aimed at ending the insurgency in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and his involvement in the Sudan peace talks. Domestically, his administration has built the Talanta Sports City stadium project and spearheaded the National Tree Growing Restoration campaign, which aims to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 to combat climate change and restore Kenya's forest cover. In June 2024, Ruto's proposed finance bill was the subject of protests in which at least 22 people were killed, causing Ruto to back down and withdraw the bill.
Early life and education
A member of the Kalenjin people from the Rift Valley region, William Ruto is of mixed Kipsigis and Nandi heritage. His father, Daniel Cheruiyot, hailed from the Kapkomoseek clan of the Kipsigis in Kericho, while his mother, Sarah Cheruiyot, (familiarly known as 'Mama Sarah) of Nandi descent.
Education
Ruto started his education at Kamagut Primary School, then transferred to Kerotet Primary School—both situated within the Uasin Gishu County; and he sat for his Certificate of Primary Education at the latter. He then proceeded to Wareng Secondary School, still in Uasin Gishu County, and later Kapsabet High School in Nandi County, where he obtained his Ordinary Level and Advanced Level education respectively.
He then enrolled at the University of Nairobi to pursue Botany and Zoology, graduating in 1990 with a BSc. He went on to complete an MSc in Plant Ecology, also from the University of Nairobi. The year after his graduation, he enrolled for a Ph.D. at the same university, and after several setbacks, he completed and graduated on 21 December 2018.
Ruto authored several papers, including one titled Plant Species Diversity and Composition of Two Wetlands in the Nairobi National Park, Kenya.
During his time in the campus for his undergraduate education, Ruto was an active member of the Christian Union. He also served as the Chairman of the University of Nairobi's choir. Through his church activities at the University of Nairobi, he met President Daniel arap Moi, who would later introduce him to politics during the 1992 general elections.
Political career
After graduating from the University of Nairobi in 1990, Ruto was employed as a temporary teacher in the North Rift region of Kenya from 1990 to 1992, where he was also a leader of the local church choir, the Africa Inland Church (AIC).
YK'92
Ruto began his political career when he became the treasurer of the YK'92 campaign group that was lobbying for the re-election of President Moi in 1992, from which he learned the basics of Kenyan politics. He is also believed to have accumulated some wealth in this period. After the 1992 elections, President Moi disbanded YK'92 and Ruto unsuccessfully vied for various branch-level positions in KANU, which was at that time Kenya's ruling party.
Member of Parliament
Ruto ran for a parliamentary seat in the 1997 general election. He surprisingly beat the incumbent, Reuben Chesire, Moi's preferred candidate, as well as the Uasin Gishu KANU branch chairman and assistant minister.Courting the Kalenjin: The Failure of Dynasticism and the Strength of the ODM Wave in Kenya's Rift Valley Province, Gabrielle Lynch, African Affairs, Vol. 107, No. 429 (Oct. 2008), pp. 541–568 He later gained favour with Moi and was appointed KANU Director of Elections. His strong support in 2002 for Moi's preferred successor, Uhuru Kenyatta, saw him get a place as assistant minister in the Home Affairs (Interior) ministry. Later in that election, when some government ministers resigned to join the opposition, he was promoted to full Cabinet Minister. KANU lost the election but he retained his parliamentary seat. Ruto was elected KANU Secretary General in 2005, with Uhuru Kenyatta elected as chairman.
In 2005, Kenya held a referendum on a new constitution, which KANU opposed. Some members of the ruling NARC coalition government, mainly former KANU ministers who had joined the opposition coalition in 2002 under the LDP banner and who were disgruntled as President Mwai Kibaki had not honored a pre-election MoU on power-sharing and creation of a Prime Minister post, joined KANU to oppose the proposed constitution. Since the symbol of the "No" vote was an Orange, this new grouping named their movement the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Ruto was part of its top brass, dubbed the Pentagon. He solidified his voter base in the Rift Valley Province. ODM was victorious in the referendum.
In January 2006, Ruto declared publicly that he would vie for the presidency in the next general election (2007). His statement was condemned by some of his KANU colleagues, including former president Moi. By this time, ODM had morphed into a political party. Ruto sought the nomination of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) as its presidential candidate, but on 1 September 2007, he placed third with 368 votes. The winner was Raila Odinga with 2,656 votes and the runner-up was Musalia Mudavadi with 391. Ruto expressed his support for Odinga after the vote. As KANU under Uhuru Kenyatta moved to support Kibaki, he resigned from his post as KANU secretary general on 6 October 2007.
The presidential election of December 2007 ended in an impasse. Kenya's electoral commission declared Kibaki the winner, but Raila and ODM claimed the victory. Mwai Kibaki was hurriedly sworn in as the president of the December 2007 presidential election. Following the election and the dispute over the result, Kenya was engulfed by a violent political crisis. Kibaki and Odinga agreed to form a power-sharing government.Anthony Kariuki, "Kibaki names Raila PM in new Cabinet", nationmedia.com, 13 April 2008. In the grand coalition Cabinet named on 13 April 2008 and sworn in on 17 April, Ruto was appointed as Minister for Agriculture. Ruto also became the Eldoret North's Member of Parliament from 2008 to 4 March 2013.
Ruto was among the list of people who were indicted to stand trial at the ICC for their involvement in Kenya's 2007/2008 political violence. However, the ICC case was faced with challenges, especially concerning the withdrawal of key prosecution witnesses. In April 2016, the Court dropped the charges against Ruto.
On 21 April 2010, Ruto was transferred from the Agriculture Ministry and posted to the Higher Education Ministry, swapping posts with Sally Kosgei. On 24 August 2011, Ruto was relieved of his ministerial duties but remained a member of parliament. He joined with Uhuru Kenyatta to form the Jubilee alliance for the 2013 presidential election.
Deputy presidency
Acting president
On 6 October 2014, Ruto was appointed acting president of Kenya by the then President Uhuru Kenyatta following his summons to appear before the ICC. He served in the role between 6 and 9 October 2014 while President Kenyatta was away at The Hague. When he officially handed over power to Ruto at the Parliament on 6 October, Uhuru explained, "To protect the sovereignty of the Republic of Kenya, I will sign a legal notice appointing Hon William Ruto as acting president while I attend the status conference."
In the August 2017 General Elections, Uhuru and Ruto were declared victors after garnering 54% of the total votes cast. However, the Supreme Court of Kenya nullified the election, and a fresh election was held in October 2017. The opposition boycotted the fresh election and Uhuru and Ruto were re-elected with 98% of the total votes cast. The Supreme Court upheld the results of this second election.
Presidential campaign
In December 2020 Ruto announced his alliance with the newly formed United Democratic Alliance party. He was the only presidential candidate to attend the second part of the 2022 presidential debate.
On 15 August 2022, six days after the general election held on 9 August, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chair Wafula Chebukati announced that Ruto had won the presidential election, defeating candidate Raila Odinga of the Azimio La Umoja party. Ruto received 50.49% of the valid votes cast, while Odinga received 48.85%.
Odinga disputed the presidential election results announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, and he challenged the results with the Supreme Court. On 5 September, the Supreme Court judges unanimously found that evidence presented by Odinga's campaign inconclusive and upheld the election of Ruto as the winner of the election. In response to the ruling, Odinga said he respected the Supreme Court's decision even though he strongly disagreed with it.
Presidency
On 13 September 2022 he was inaugurated at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, in a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Martha Koome, and attended by over 20 heads of state and government. The inauguration day was declared a public holiday. Attendance was huge, with groups of the general public clashing with security officials when trying to enter the stadium; however, the event continued peacefully. Following his inauguration he officially began his term as President of Kenya.
After taking office Ruto pledged to address climate change and end the use of fossil fuels in Kenya's electricity production by 2030.