From a humble and religious background, with nothing to show off but full of faith and hope, this is how Kenya’s first lady has described the President.
The first lady of Kenya, Rachel Ruto, narrated how she met and married President William Ruto with nothing, full of struggles but an abundance of hope and faith.
She explains that the two were officially married in 1991 in a ceremony presided over by Bishop Emeritus Rev. Dr Silas Yego of the AIC church. This same year, the country’s political history was made when the then-late President, Daniel Arap Moi, heeded calls for multiparty politics.
Photos: Rachel Ruto (Facebook) and Samira Bawumia (Twitter)
“Bill, as I have called him since. We had little in possession, but an abundance of hope and faith. The humility of our beginning cemented our love for each other and sowed in us the virtue of selflessness,” she said.
She added that six years later, with a young family to raise, at 31 years, President Ruto would become the MP for Eldoret North, a move that changed their family life forever.
He then gradually rose through the political ranks, assuming new leadership roles, lamenting that the president no longer belonged to them as he was the property of the electorates, the public and the people he led and their doors were opened, every day, to the needs of the people.
“Reminiscing those early days, having to nurse my own children and nurture many others who saw a mother in me, if you told me I would someday become the First Lady, I would have laughed it off as a bad joke. Bill was different,” she added.
Photos: Rachel Ruto (Facebook)
“He pronounced nothing but greatness for himself and us all. If you would tell him then that he would someday become the President, I’m certain he would have smiled and replied with an “Amen!”.
She promised even with her husband’s new responsibility as the President, she doesn’t intend to learn selfishness now. She still wants to be the Chebet he married three decades ago, his supportive wife Chichi, the caring mother of his children and the accommodative First Lady of the People of Kenya.
Photo: Rachel Ruto (Facebook)
“I will ensure our doors are open, even wider and our tables set, even broader. That House on the Hill will not be an unreachable tower but a place of motherly comfort for Kenyans from all walks of life. You are a great man with an exceptional story, go and make this country great and exceptional. I love you. Kenya loves you,” Mama Rachel Ruto wrote.
