Does Ruto feel for hustlers after meteoric rise to empire builder?

From selling chicken by the roadside whenever he broke free from school to joining politics and becoming the fifth President of Kenya, William Ruto has had a transformational journey that he is not afraid to speak about.

Were he American, the country’s most highly educated president, based on sheer academic qualifications, he would fit into the respected American idiom that goes from the log cabin to the White House. That expression has its origins in the life story of the USA’s 16th President, Abraham Lincoln (1861- 1865,) who was said to have been born in want but rose to lead the world’s great democra,cy leading the federation through its tumultuous time, the Civil War, 1861-1865

If anything, President Ruto has constantly narrated the story of his life, encouraging many that they too can rise from a ‘hustler’ to holding positions of great value in society.

That Ruto has risen through the ranks to what he is today is not in doubt.

“I was not born into privilege or wealth. I walked barefoot to school, and I sold chicken by the roadside. Had I declared then that I would one day be the President of Kenya, many would have dismissed it as a folly, yet here we stand. So let no one despise your beginnings. Let no one tell you that your dreams are too big. There is power in daring brains, in raising the bar,” he has previously said.

In an interview with Al Jazeera after he was sworn in as president, Ruto said the majority who have worked with him have come to appreciate that he is firm, determined and focused, and it is the only reason he has got himself where he is, by being resolute and focused.

“Unless you are firm, you can get nothing done… My background gives me a world view understanding of what the issues are, and by virtue of the opportunity I have gone through leadership as a Member of Parliament, a Minister before, as a Deputy President, gives me a vantage point on solutions to challenges that face our country,” Ruto told Al Jazeera.

According to Ruto’s previous narrations, his childhood mirrors the lives of many poor Kenyans.

He has time and again recounted how he went to primary school barefoot and was only able to wear his first pair of shoes at the age of 15.

Aside from selling chicken by the roadside, Ruto has also counted hawking groundnuts as art of his trade and when the time came to run for the top seat in the 2022 general election, he aligned himself with the common man, thereby building a narrative of a champion of the poor, giving birth to the ‘hustler’ narrative.

He therefore coined the phrase “Hustler Nation” to refer to the people struggling to make ends meet.

Bottom-up approach

His campaign and subsequent style of governance that he has been seeking to promote is the bottom-up approach economy, which he says is geared towards benefiting the poor who bear the brunt of the cost of living crisis.

President Ruto joined politics in 1992, having been mentored by then-President Daniel Arap Moi, and ultimately became part of his youth wing at Kanu party, and part of his job was to mobilise voters for the first multi-party elections.

He plunged into politics and was first elected as Eldoret North Member of Parliament in 1997 on a Kanu ticket and from 2007 to 2013 through the ODM party.

Even as he ran his politics, which he did with energy, he stealthily built a business empire, reportedly investing in various sectors of the economy.

In his business dealings, Ruto has proved equally controversial, over some of the businesses he reportedly owns.

For instance, there was a dispute over the acquisition of Weston Hotel land, which he was believed to own, a situation that also saw controversy for several years over who was the original land owner.

In an interview with BBC HardTalk in 2019, Ruto, then Deputy President said: “In fact, for the record, the National Land Commission has made a finding that Weston was an innocent purchaser for value from somebody who got it illegally, and preparations have been made constitutionally to restore that land to Kenya Civil Aviation Authority by demanding that those who sold the land to us must pay,” 

Fast forward to June 2025, reports indicated that the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) had closed the chapter on its land dispute with Weston and chose a compensation deal over going to a full trial. The 1.7-acre plot, considered critical for aviation safety, has gone to Weston.

Reports however, now indicate that the agreement was filed in the Lands court in Nairobi, bringing to an end the high-stakes legal battle that had persisted for several years between the aviation regulator and the President.

Earlier this year, Ruto’s name was dropped from the list of shareholders and directors, leaving it under the control of family members, just like in other businesses he is associated with.

Yet another issue that Ruto has reportedly been involved with was Adrian Muteshi, where they were embroiled in a protracted court case over a 100-acre farm in Uasin Gishu during the 2008 post-election violence.

A court ordered Ruto to pay a victim of 2007/08 post-election violence Sh5 million for illegally taking away his land during the post-election violence in June 2013. In February 2014, Ruto appealed the court decision to pay, and in 2017, he withdrew the appeal against the judgment.

In October 2019, reports emerged of Ruto’s acquisition of a 900-acre piece of land belonging to Kenya’s second Vice President, Joseph Murumbi, amid allegations that he was involved in the irregular acquisition of the land.

Allegations raised were that Murumbi had been involved in a dispute over loan defaults with a state corporation against the land that was pledged as collateral for the loan.

Ruto is also linked to an Insurance company, African Merchants Assurance Company Limited (Amaco), with reports indicating that the President’s family is among the shareholders, accounting for 190,000 shares or 15 per cent through Yegen Farms Limited.

Ruto is also believed to own hundreds of acres of land and ranches where he practices mixed farming, and is on record indicating that ‘farming is his passion’.

“A nation that cannot feed itself cannot claim to be independent in any way. We must feed ourselves, and I urge all farmers to work hard. Farming is a job, but it also goes beyond that; it is a passion,” he once said.

Other sectors he is believed to invest in include manufacturing, transport, energy and horticulture, among others.

But as the President builds an empire, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua recently claimed that he is busy with business deals and ‘making money’ at the expense of the nation’s interests.

“In another two years, if things go the way they are, there will be no country. These people have a serious appetite for land and buildings, and I do not know how much land they want. The other day, they took land for internally displaced persons in Ndabibi. The President has taken over and is not growing wheat on 5,000 acres,” Gachagua claimed.

He also claimed that there was an airport that was supposed to be put up in Narok, but the President has relocated it to his land in Kilgoris.

Gachagua said that the President had great ideas of putting money in people’s pockets, but that agenda has since been hijacked for personal gain.

Last month, Ruto signed the Conflict of Interest Bill into law, with the new legislation expected to curb the abuse of power and misuse of public resources by public officers.

The President described the moment as “consequential” for Kenya, noting that the law sets clear standards to ensure public officials uphold integrity, transparency, and accountability in the discharge of their duties.

“This is a very consequential moment in Kenya. We are making it much more difficult for people to take advantage of the offices they occupy,” the President said.

He said the new law empowers citizens to hold public officers accountable and enhances oversight by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which will supervise the law’s implementation.

“To the EACC, you now have levers to make sure that you protect the resources of the Republic of Kenya and hold every officer to account,” Ruto stated.