Who is H.E. President William Ruto?
From selling chickens by the roadside in Kamagut to the presidency of the Republic of Kenya — a biography that is itself the argument for the Bottom-Up agenda.
William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto was born in 1966 in Kamagut, Uasin Gishu County, to a family of modest means. He sold chickens and groundnuts by the roadside to raise school fees — a detail that is not campaign colour but the origin of an entire economic doctrine.
He earned a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Science and a PhD in Plant Ecology from the University of Nairobi, remaining an academic long after entering politics.
Public service
- Member of Parliament for Eldoret North, 1997–2013.
- Minister for Home Affairs; Minister for Agriculture; Minister for Higher Education.
- Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, 2013–2022.
- Fifth President of the Republic of Kenya, sworn in 13 September 2022.
The 2022 election
He won the 2022 general election on the Hustler Nation platform, campaigning explicitly on the economic interests of the bottom of the pyramid against a dynastic political establishment. The result was upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court of Kenya, and the transfer of power was peaceful.