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Revision as of 07:07, 2 September 2007 by Everyking (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)William Samoei Ruto (born December 21, 1966 in Kamagut, Uasin Gishu) is former Treasurer Youth for Kanu '92 (YK92) and former minister of home affairs of Kenya. YK 92 was a group formed to bribe voters using illegally printed money in the 1992 elections. He is Secretary General of the Kenya African National Union, the former ruling political party. He has been MP for Eldoret North constituency since the 1997 Kenyan elections. He became minister of home affairs in August 2002 but lost the post after December 2002 Kenyan elections when KANU lost to the NARC coalition. He is seen as a fast emerging powerful Kalenjin politician in Kenya's political arena.
However, his involvement with the Youth for Kanu '92 (YK92) group, and links to various corrupt land acquisitions besmirch what would otherwise have been a bright political career. William Ruto is currently on trial charged with defrauding the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) of huge amounts of money through dubious land deals, but he has been out on bond. The case has been dragging in the courts for almost three years due to technical injuctions.
In January 2006 Ruto declared publicly that he would vie 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 Democractic Movement (ODM) as its presidential candidate, but in the party's vote on September 1 2007, he placed third with 368 votes, behind the winner, Raila Odinga (with 2,656 votes) and Musalia Mudavadi (with 391).
Ruto attended Wareng Secondary School,Eldoret, Kapsabet Boys,Nandi and has a BSc in botany from the University of Nairobi.
References
- "Kenya: It's Raila for President", East African Standard (allAfrica.com), September 1, 2007.
- Daily Nation: Jan 21, 2006 William Ruto, 40
- Daily Nation: Jan 22, 2006: Guilty As Charged: Ruto Confesses His Ambition
- BBC News, Kenya's political punch-up
External links
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