Rachel Chebet Ruto (born 20 November 1969) is a Kenyan educator currently serving as the

First Lady of Kenya The first lady of Kenya is the title held by the wife of the president of Kenya. While the office has been in existence since independence, it is not in the Constitution of Kenya. This has brought it under fire for having funding despite being ...

. She is the wife of

William Ruto William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 January 1967) is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected Deputy President of Kenya, ...

, the fifth and current

President of Kenya The president of the Republic of Kenya () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The president is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya De ...

Early life

Rachel Chebet was born in Likuyani, Kakamega County, Western Region on 20 November 1968.

Education and career

She went to Likuyani Primary School, Kakamega County and thereafter proceeded to Butere Girls High School for her O and A levels. She passed her advanced level education and subsequently was called to join the

Kenyatta University Kenyatta University (KU) is a public university with its main campus in Nairobi, Kenya. It acquired the status of university in 1985, being the third university after University of Nairobi (1970) and Moi University (1984). As of October 2014, it ...

where she pursued a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. or BEd) is an undergraduate academic degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. A Bachelor of Education program typically lasts three to four years and combines both coursework and practical exp ...

(

Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

) degree. She went on to earn her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 2011 at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. Although she studied Education, she did not get a chance to practice teaching for long as she voluntarily retired and ventured into entrepreneurship in the tour and travel business focused on

tourist trap A tourist trap is an establishment (or group of establishments) created or re-purposed with the aim of attracting tourists and their money. Tourist traps typically provide overpriced services, entertainment, food, souvenirs, and other product ...

cities in the country.

Philanthropy and Activism

She became an advocate for women's rights and empowerment. On 17 January 2014, Rachel Ruto was awarded the International Honorary Fellowship Award On Women Empowerment at the Binary University in Malaysia. She has been championing for healthy living through physical exercise such as cycling and launched the Mama Cycling Initiative in September to promote the practice. In March 2023, she expressed opposition to same sex relationships, following a Kenyan Supreme Court ruling allowing LGBTQ groups to organise.

Family

Rachel and

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

were married in 1991 at the AIC church. They met while they were in university at a Christian Union rally at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

. Rachel was studying

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

while her husband was taking

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

at the

. The couple has six children including Charlene. The couple adopted baby Nadia, who had been buried alive. They named the baby Cherono, after Ruto's mother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruto, Rachel First ladies of Kenya Living people 1968 births People from Kakamega Kenyan educators Kenyatta University alumni Catholic University of Eastern Africa alumni Alumni of Butere Girls High School