‘Si uchawi, ni maombi’ chanted Kenyans who attended the inauguration of President William Ruto during his swearing in on September 9 at the Kasarani Stadium.
A proud moment it was for the ‘son of Sugoi’ as he upset the odds to become Kenya’s 5th President. If prayer was a weapon, then in Dr Ruto and his wife Rachel Chebet Ruto, two warriors were found, strong warriors but yet weak enough to never shy away from shading tears in public.
And so it was only fair that after their triumphant ‘Ni God‘ moment, the duo basked in glory in front of supporters and the international community. And while Dr Ruto has been hogging the headlines, his short-hair-shaven ‘Mama watoto‘ has been endearing herself to the public in her own way.
Rachel’s hairstyle – or lack thereof, her simple but (shhhh – expensive) dressing and public demeanor gives that ‘Kienyeji‘ vibe that Kenyans are falling back in love with. Not much else is known of the 53-year-old once-a-church-girl-always-one.
Striking resemblance
She replaces Margaret Kenyatta as Kenya’s first lady and the two bare a resemblance that would have a stranger thinking they attended the same school and did so much more together. Mrs. Kenyatta in fact looks like Mrs. Ruto, with a little aromatt.
Mrs. Kenyatta dedicated her 10 years as the first lady leading the Beyond Zero Campaign, an initiative that aimed to improve maternal and child health in Kenya. The initiative started well but along the way, the scourge that is corruption corrupted the gains made – and as they say, the rest is bad history.
Project First Lady
Kenyans have been wondering what Mrs. Ruto’s project will be. Well, look no further. She is an avid cyclist and runs a cycling club called ‘Mama Cycling,’ a registered association that brings together cyclists and cycling enthusiasts to promote healthy communities through cycling.
In one of photos shared by the group on social media, Mrs. Ruto is seen peddling on a Trek bike. A new Trek bike costs anything in the region of Ksh. 150,000 to 1.5 million, and beyond. The cost depends on a number of factors including design, year of manufacture and whether first or second hand.
We wouldn’t bet against her being a proud owner of a brand new ride, after all, she happens to be the woman behind one of Kenya’s richest people.
Could her ‘Project First Lady’ be championing for the rights of cyclists and help address the issue of cyclists getting knocked down by the roadside?
Could she help make Kenya a cycling nation in the midst of high cost of living propagated by high cost of fuel?
Let’s wait and see.
