Rachel Ruto: Kenya's Next First Lady Whose Hidden Message Defined Elections

The Office of the First Lady plays a supportive role in the Presidency and promotes national goals and values.

A key focus of the Office is to ensure efficient and effective delivery of the First Lady's projects including the improvement in the quality of life of Kenyans, especially mothers and children through the Beyond Zero Initiative.

Her Excellency, the First Lady of Kenya, is Patron to numerous social and environmental concerns and oversees the Pupils Reward Scheme (PURES) mentorship program. Her Beyond Zero Initiative involved reducing preventable maternal and child deaths, as well as the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

Her office had its own staff; Constance Gakonyo as the Chief of Staff, Eva Maina as the Deputy Secretary and Vivianne Ngugi as the Head of Communication and Press.

Inside Life Of Incoming First Lady, Rachel Ruto

Known for her short natural hair and simple dressing style, Rachael Ruto is an eloquent woman interested in the empowerment of other women across the country.

She is also known for conducting countrywide prayers for the nation’s peace and Jubilee’s success in elections. From very humble beginnings, she rose to become a successful woman who many look up to for guidance and inspiration.

Born on November 20, 1968, in Likuyani Constituency, Kakamega County, Rachel went to Likuyani Primary School, Kakamega County and thereafter Butere Girls High School for her O and A levels.

From Butere, she joined Kenyatta University for a Bachelor of Education Degree. She then went on to earn her Master of Arts in 2011 at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA).

Rachel and President-elect Ruto are blessed with six children; Nick Ruto, June Ruto, Charlene Ruto, Stephanie Ruto, George Ruto and Abby Ruto. The couple adopted baby Nadia, who had been buried alive and named her Cherono, after DP Ruto’s mother.

After graduating, Rachel Ruto became a teacher, before meeting William Ruto while they were both teachers. During the 2018 Devolution Conference, William Ruto said Likuyani Constituency has always been special to him since it is where he found "the apple of his eye" - Rachel.

“Those looking for a reason as to why I hang around here often... you now know why. You don't forget that place easily... Like the Bible says, he who finds a wife finds a good thing... aside from the fact that I am just a neighbour," he told Governors during the 2018 Devolution Conference.

Years later, Ruto would share how he had to learn the Luhya dialect to win Rachel’s heart.

Although she studied Education, she didn’t get a chance to practice teaching for long as she ventured into the tour business taking people throughout the country to places like Maasai Mara and Mombasa. They also organized Israel tours for Christians twice a year. 

Mama Rachel Ruto speaks during a past function. /CITIZEN DIGITAL

Rachel Ruto is passionate about women's empowerment. She has established various projects to help women in society better themselves. Some of the projects to empower women are:

• Drops of gold: This was an initiative to help women get clean water for use. Many women carry water for long distances. While touring the country, Rachel identified this problem, hence, the project which is in collaboration with the government. 
• Table banking for women: Most Kenyan women are familiar with ‘chamaas’ which operate on a merry-go-round basis and people have to wait for ages for their turn. Table banking is where women put money on the table either monthly or weekly. From this money, then each member decides how much they want to borrow.
• Cross stitching, especially for women in prison: This is an embroidery pattern done in such an artful manner. This project targets prison women who can cross stitch, their embroideries which are kept in a frame and sold, from a distance you’d mistake it’s a drawing. The money from the cross stitching is given to them which means they’ll have something when they leave prison. 

It is worth it to note that Rachel can also cross stitch, a skill she learnt from her mother.

• She also started a poultry project which supplies chicks to women across the country at an affordable price. William Ruto coincidentally was once selling chicken by the roadside.

The project to empower women is known as Joyful Women Organization (JOYWO). Appearing in a past Citizen TV’s Newsmakers series, Rachel revealed that the project helped a good number of women.

Some of them have been able to start businesses, save money, buy land and in the process build their confidence. She also disclosed that none of these projects overlapped with the outgoing first lady’s projects.

They had both supported each other while each dealt with different projects to help women, Rachel through empowering women in business and Margaret with her Beyond Zero campaign.

Rachel Ruto, The Prayer Warrior.

A picture of President-elect William Ruto and First lady Rachel Ruto, holding their bibles, heading home after a prayer service offers Kenyans a taste of what to expect from the incoming first family deeply rooted in religion.

In her 10-year stint as Kenya’s Second Lady, Rachel Ruto portrayed herself as a prayerful woman – and whenever the country was going through a major problem, she would take the initiative of leading prayers. For instance, she led National Prayers to cleanse the Salgaa black spot along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway in 2017.

In 2019, Rachel prompted major changes to the Official Deputy President’s residence in Karen by launching the National Prayer Altar where the family has been conducting church services and even invited friends and acquaintances to worship with them.

However, Rachel’s prayerful nature has sometimes sunk her into controversies and scrutiny from the members of the public. In May 2022, she publicly confessed that she prayed until dirty borehole water became crystal clear.

“You know what I did? I went to the kitchen, took a bowl, put salt and went to the borehole and I decreed the words of Elisha. I went and said ‘this water will never be dirty again!’

"And I sprayed the water around the borehole. On Friday I went to the residence and noticed the water was looking different…,” Rachel narrated the miraculous incident.

It matters little to Rachel as it is these prayers that have been playing a key role in getting her husband to the country's top and most coveted seat. During his acceptance speech at the Bomas of Kenya after being declared President-elect on Monday, August 15, Ruto said he is not a self-made leader, but one who has stood strong because of prayers.

“I have been prayed into victory. We were working against the odds, but I must confess it is God,” he said.

DP William Ruto and his wife, Mama Rachel Ruto arrive at Bomas of Kenya ahead of the IEBC's presidential elections results announcement. /FILE