William Ruto
Encyclopedia
William Kipchirchir Samoei arap Ruto (born 21 December 1966 in Kamagut, Uasin Gishu) is a Kenya
n politician who was Minister for Higher Education until 19 October 2010 after being suspended for corruption. He is also one of the two deputy party leaders of the Orange Democratic Movement
. He had previously served in the Ministry of Agriculture since April 2008. Ruto was elected Director of Elections on 18 March 2002, when the National Development Party
led by Raila Odinga
merged with the Kenya African National Union (KANU)
. He was Secretary General of KANU
, the former ruling political party, and he has been MP for Eldoret North Constituency
since the 1997 Kenyan election
a seat he won after trouncing the former M.P. The Late Hon. Rueben Chesire. He became an Assistant Minister in the Office of the President and was appointed Minister in charge of Home Affairs in August 2002 but lost the post after the December 2002 election, in which Kenya African National Union
lost to the National Rainbow Coalition
coalition. He also previously served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Reform in the 9th Parliament.
Ruto has been implicated in orchestrating the 2007/2008 post election violence in Kenya. On November 3, 2010, Ruto flew to the International Criminal Court at the Hague to discuss an evidence deal with the prosecutor. On 15 December 2010, Ruto was named in a summons by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, in relation to his role in violence which followed from the 2007 elections
, graduating in 1990. He then enrolled for a MSC degree. During an appearance on the comedy show Churchill Live in June 2011, he said he intends to complete the masters degree soon
(YK92), a group that was formed to drum up support for President Daniel arap Moi
in the 1992 election.
In January 2006, Ruto declared publicly that he would stand for the presidency in the next general election, scheduled for December 2007. His statement was condemned by some of his KANU colleagues, including former president Daniel arap Moi
. Ruto sought the nomination of the Orange Democratic Movement
(ODM) as its presidential candidate, but in the party's vote on 1 September 2007, he placed third with 368 votes, behind the winner, Raila Odinga
(with 2,656 votes) and Musalia Mudavadi
(with 391). Ruto expressed his support for Odinga after the vote. He resigned from his post as KANU secretary general on 6 October 2007.
The presidential election of December 2007 ended in an impasse. The Kenya's electoral commission declared Kibaki the winner while exit polls had clearly placed Raila Odinga in front. Raila and ODM claimed victory. In a scene that has been replicated all over Africa, Mwai Kibaki was hurriedly sworn in as the president December 2007 presidential election
. Following the election and dispute over the result Kenya was engulfed by a violent political crisis. Kibaki and Odinga agreed to form a power-sharing government. In the grand coalition Cabinet named on 13 April 2008 and sworn in on 17 April, Ruto was appointed as Minister for Agriculture.
On 21 April 2010, President Mwai Kibaki and his Prime Minister Raila Odinga removed Ruto from the agriculture ministry, and transferred him to the higher education ministry, swapping posts with Sally Kosgei.. On 24 August 2011, William Ruto was relieved of his ministerial duties and he remains just a member of parliament
of huge amounts of money through dubious land deals, but he has been out on bond. The Constitutional Court suspended further hearing of the case due to complaints by Ruto that the prosecution was politically engineered. However, the High Court cleared the path for criminal charges against the Higher Education minister over the alleged sale of a piece of land in Ngong’ forest to Kenya Pipeline Company Ltd.
He was however acquitted of the allegations after a court declared him innocent.
MP Bonny Khalwale
(Public Accounts Committee Chairman). All the documents bearing the National Cereals and Produce Board seal that linked Mr Ruto to the illegal sale of maize were accepted by Parliament’s deputy speaker.
Managers of the board stated maize was allocated to some individuals allegedly on the strength of a call by Mr Ruto. Ttables showed that the cereals board had in store 2.6 million bags of maize in June 2008 and had allocated maize to companies and individuals described as undeserving. Mr Ruto had informed the House that the maize in the stores at the time was 1.6 million bags. William Ruto attributed the maize scandal allegations and claims of his involvement in corruption to the work of his “political enemies”.
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n politician who was Minister for Higher Education until 19 October 2010 after being suspended for corruption. He is also one of the two deputy party leaders of the Orange Democratic Movement
Orange Democratic Movement
Orange Democratic Movement refers to a political party in Kenya, which is the successor of a former grassroots people's movement which was formed in the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum. The erstwhile single party which separated in August 2007 into two...
. He had previously served in the Ministry of Agriculture since April 2008. Ruto was elected Director of Elections on 18 March 2002, when the National Development Party
National Development Party
National Development Party can refer to:* National Development Party * National Development Party * National Development Party * National Development Party * National Development Party...
led by Raila Odinga
Raila Odinga
Raila Amollo Odinga , also popularly known to Kenyans as Agwambo, is a Kenyan politician, currently serving as the Prime Minister of Kenya in a coalition government. He has served as a Member of Parliament for Langata since 1992, was Minister of Energy from 2001 to 2002, and was Minister of Roads,...
merged with the Kenya African National Union (KANU)
Kenya African National Union
The Kenya African National Union, better known as KANU is a political party which ruled Kenya for nearly 40 years after its independence from British colonial rule in 1963, until its electoral loss at the end of 2002...
. He was Secretary General of KANU
Kenya African National Union
The Kenya African National Union, better known as KANU is a political party which ruled Kenya for nearly 40 years after its independence from British colonial rule in 1963, until its electoral loss at the end of 2002...
, the former ruling political party, and he has been MP for Eldoret North Constituency
Eldoret North Constituency
Eldoret North Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of three constituencies in Uasin Gishu District. The constituency was established for the 1966 elections.The current Eldoret North MP is William Ruto, a prominent Kenyan politician....
since the 1997 Kenyan election
Kenyan general election, 1997
General elections were held in Kenya on 29 December 1997. The result was a victory for the ruling Kenya African National Union, which won 107 of the 210 seats in the National Assembly, and whose candidate Daniel arap Moi won the presidential election...
a seat he won after trouncing the former M.P. The Late Hon. Rueben Chesire. He became an Assistant Minister in the Office of the President and was appointed Minister in charge of Home Affairs in August 2002 but lost the post after the December 2002 election, in which Kenya African National Union
Kenya African National Union
The Kenya African National Union, better known as KANU is a political party which ruled Kenya for nearly 40 years after its independence from British colonial rule in 1963, until its electoral loss at the end of 2002...
lost to the National Rainbow Coalition
National Rainbow Coalition
The National Rainbow Coalition was a coalition of Kenyan political parties in power from 2002 and 2005 when it fell apart in a controversy between its wings about a constitutional referendum.-Formation:...
coalition. He also previously served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Reform in the 9th Parliament.
Ruto has been implicated in orchestrating the 2007/2008 post election violence in Kenya. On November 3, 2010, Ruto flew to the International Criminal Court at the Hague to discuss an evidence deal with the prosecutor. On 15 December 2010, Ruto was named in a summons by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, in relation to his role in violence which followed from the 2007 elections
Early life
Ruto was born 21 December 1966 in Kamagut, Uasin Gishu to the late Mzee Daniel Cheruiyot and Mama Sarah Cheruiyot. He attended Kerotet Primary School for his primary school education then joined Wareng Secondary School for his Ordinary Levels education before proceeding to Kapsabet Boys, Nandi for his Advanced Levels. He then went on to receive a BSc from the University of NairobiUniversity of Nairobi
The University of Nairobi is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution goes back to 1956, it did not become an independent university until 1970 when the University of East Africa was split into three independent universities: Makerere University in...
, graduating in 1990. He then enrolled for a MSC degree. During an appearance on the comedy show Churchill Live in June 2011, he said he intends to complete the masters degree soon
Political career
Ruto was Organising Secretary of Youth for Kanu '92Youth for Kanu '92
Youth for Kanu '92 was a lobby group of politicians from the Kenya African National Union that was consolidated with the stated aim of rallying support and funding for the, then incumbent president of Kenya Daniel Toroitich arap Moi, in Kenya's first multiparty elections since the end of the Cold war...
(YK92), a group that was formed to drum up support for President Daniel arap Moi
Daniel arap Moi
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002.Daniel arap Moi is popularly known to Kenyans as 'Nyayo', a Swahili word for 'footsteps'...
in the 1992 election.
In January 2006, Ruto declared publicly that he would stand for the presidency in the next general election, scheduled for December 2007. His statement was condemned by some of his KANU colleagues, including former president Daniel arap Moi
Daniel arap Moi
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002.Daniel arap Moi is popularly known to Kenyans as 'Nyayo', a Swahili word for 'footsteps'...
. Ruto sought the nomination of the Orange Democratic Movement
Orange Democratic Movement
Orange Democratic Movement refers to a political party in Kenya, which is the successor of a former grassroots people's movement which was formed in the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum. The erstwhile single party which separated in August 2007 into two...
(ODM) as its presidential candidate, but in the party's vote on 1 September 2007, he placed third with 368 votes, behind the winner, Raila Odinga
Raila Odinga
Raila Amollo Odinga , also popularly known to Kenyans as Agwambo, is a Kenyan politician, currently serving as the Prime Minister of Kenya in a coalition government. He has served as a Member of Parliament for Langata since 1992, was Minister of Energy from 2001 to 2002, and was Minister of Roads,...
(with 2,656 votes) and Musalia Mudavadi
Musalia Mudavadi
Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi is a Kenyan politician, currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government.Mudavadi was born in Sabatia, Vihiga District...
(with 391). Ruto expressed his support for Odinga after the vote. He resigned from his post as KANU secretary general on 6 October 2007.
The presidential election of December 2007 ended in an impasse. The Kenya's electoral commission declared Kibaki the winner while exit polls had clearly placed Raila Odinga in front. Raila and ODM claimed victory. In a scene that has been replicated all over Africa, Mwai Kibaki was hurriedly sworn in as the president December 2007 presidential election
Kenyan presidential election, 2007
A presidential election was held as part of the Kenyan general election on December 27, 2007; parliamentary elections were held on the same date. Incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner and sworn in on December 30, despite opposition leader Raila Odinga's claims of victory...
. Following the election and dispute over the result Kenya was engulfed by a violent political crisis. Kibaki and Odinga agreed to form a power-sharing government. In the grand coalition Cabinet named on 13 April 2008 and sworn in on 17 April, Ruto was appointed as Minister for Agriculture.
On 21 April 2010, President Mwai Kibaki and his Prime Minister Raila Odinga removed Ruto from the agriculture ministry, and transferred him to the higher education ministry, swapping posts with Sally Kosgei.. On 24 August 2011, William Ruto was relieved of his ministerial duties and he remains just a member of parliament
International Criminal Court summons
In December 2010, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced that he was seeking summonses of six people, including Ruto over their involvement in the 2007-8 electoral violence. The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber subsequently issued a summons for Ruto at the prosecutor's request. Ruto is accused of planning and organising crimes against supporters of President Kibaki's Party of National Unity. He is charged with three counts of crimes against humanity, one of each of murder, forcible transfer of population and persecution.Controversy
William Ruto was on trial charged with defrauding the Kenya Pipeline CompanyKenya Pipeline Company
Kenya Pipeline Company is a state corporation that has the responsibility of transporting, storing and delivering petroleum products to the consumers of Kenya by its pipeline system and oil depot network....
of huge amounts of money through dubious land deals, but he has been out on bond. The Constitutional Court suspended further hearing of the case due to complaints by Ruto that the prosecution was politically engineered. However, the High Court cleared the path for criminal charges against the Higher Education minister over the alleged sale of a piece of land in Ngong’ forest to Kenya Pipeline Company Ltd.
He was however acquitted of the allegations after a court declared him innocent.
Maize Scandal
In early 2009 after parliamentary debate on a maize scandal, Ruto was accused of illegally selling maize by IkolomaniIkolomani Constituency
Ikolomani Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of four constituencies in Kakamega District. The constituency was established for the 1963 elections.- Members of Parliament :- Wards :...
MP Bonny Khalwale
Bonny Khalwale
Bonny Khalwale is Kenyan MP of Ikolomani Constituency and a former Medical Officer.He was educated at Kakamega High School.His election as an MP in the Kenyan parliamentary election, 2007 was nullified in February 2011....
(Public Accounts Committee Chairman). All the documents bearing the National Cereals and Produce Board seal that linked Mr Ruto to the illegal sale of maize were accepted by Parliament’s deputy speaker.
Managers of the board stated maize was allocated to some individuals allegedly on the strength of a call by Mr Ruto. Ttables showed that the cereals board had in store 2.6 million bags of maize in June 2008 and had allocated maize to companies and individuals described as undeserving. Mr Ruto had informed the House that the maize in the stores at the time was 1.6 million bags. William Ruto attributed the maize scandal allegations and claims of his involvement in corruption to the work of his “political enemies”.