Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Monday August 15 declared William Ruto as the winner of the presidential election with 7,176 141 votes, representing 50.49 per cent of the total valid votes. Ruto who has been serving as Deputy President for the last two terms defeated prominent opposition figure Raila Odinga. Odinga came second with 6,942, 930 votes, representing 48.85 per cent of the total valid votes. The announcement was made by the IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati at the Bomas of Kenya auditorium, six days after Kenyans went to the ballot on August 9. Other candidates are George Wajackoyah who garnered 61,969 votes representing 0.44% while Waihika Mwaure got 31,987 votes representing 0.23%. In his acceptance speech Ruto thanked Odinga and emphasized a campaign that focused on issues and not ethnic divisions, saying that gratitude goes to millions of Kenyans who refused to be boxed into tribal cocoons. He added that people who had acted against his campaign have nothing to fear ... There is no room for vengeance. Speaking to The New Times after the announcement, the secretary general of the Association of Kenyans in Rwanda, Onesmus Marete said; “The whole election process was transparent, there was a bit of a glitch towards the announcement but for now, let’s put politics aside, focus on Kenya as a country.” He added that, “Those that lost and those that won all have Kenya at heart. Those that lost also have a legal right to challenge the outcomes of the elections in the Supreme court.” Who is Ruto He was born in Sugoi, Uasin Gishu County in 1966. He holds a PhD in Plant Ecology and has been serving as Kenya’s deputy president since 2013 when he was elected as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s running mate. In October 2014, he shortly served as acting President when Kenyatta briefly relinquished power to attend to his criminal case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands. Kenyattas charges were later dropped. He was a co-founder and key member of the Youth for Kanu 1992 (YK92), a lobby group that campaigned for late President Daniel Moi in the 1992 general elections. Earlier, he had met Moi, his political mentor, through his involvement in church activities. He was first elected to Parliament in 1997 as MP for Eldoret North. Ruto served as an assistant minister in the Office of the President from 1998 to 2002 when he was elevated to cabinet as Minister for Home Affairs following the sacking of George Saitoti by Moi after disagreements over the 2002 succession. Ruto has also served as Minister for Agriculture and Higher Education. Ruto set his eyes on the 2022 presidential election which he contested on a UDA ticket under the Kenya Kwanza Alliance and has been declared winner.
