Kenya’s President William Samoei Ruto has been in most cases referred to as ‘Doyen’. But why the name ‘Doyen’. Is it really a nickname or is it a term referring to one of his characters? Well, in this article, we take a close look as to why William Ruto is referred to as Doyen and the instances in which he has been referred to as Doyen.
Who is Ruto?
Ruto is the current president of Kenya who got into office on 13th September 2022 after he was sworn in at Kasarani National Stadium. He is married to Rachel Ruto who is now Kenya’s first lady.
Why is Ruto referred to as Doyen?
Ruto is called Doyen due to his hardworking nature which against all odds, he has been able to overcome political giants in Kenya. As a matter of fact, he has been known as a political genius attributed to former president Daniel Moi who despite not having studied anything related to politics, handled politics at a high level.
William Ruto through his political smartness, he has been able to get into the highest rank in the country through winning the most coveted rank in the country which is being the Head of State. Becoming the president of Kenya and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, is one of the best rank in the country.
The Political Genius
During his political journey, he has never lost any elections since he vied to be a Member of Parliament in Eldoret North constituency in 1997. During this period, he won the elections becoming the MP from 1997 to 2013. He also served as the minister for Home Affairs under President Moi from August to December 2002, Minister for Agriculture from 2008 to 2010 under President Kibaki, Minister for Higher Education from April to October 2010.
In 2013, he was the running mate for the former president Uhuru Kenyatta with which they reigned together to September 2022 serving as the Deputy President. Ruto, however, on the 2nd term, parted ways with Uhuru Kenyatta after the handshake of Uhuru with Raila Odinga causing a diversion in the political interests.
This led Uhuru to support Raila while William Ruto was only left with allies who chose to stand with him. Most of Ruto’s allies suffered intimidations, blackmail and some lost coveted positions in government. Remaining focused, they ran their campaigns and later won the elections with a small margin.
With this political journey, Ruto has been, therefore, referred to as ‘Doyen’. Meaning that he is focused, hardworking and someone who can be admired. It came to a surprise of many on his victory despite lacking any support from the government as well as state officers which he claimed were used by government to ensure that he would not win the elections.
Meaning of Doyen
The term Doyen means, someone who is highly respected, regarded and one who is prominent in a certain field. In simple terms, this is a person who is taken to be a genius in a particular field.
With this, in William Ruto’s case, he is called Doyen as he is a highly regarded person when it comes to the political field. Notwithstanding, several political gurus have acknowledged his smartness with an example of Francis Atwoli whose claims were as follows;
President-elect William Ruto has political skills and he has outsmarted us in Azimio. We must accept his victory as we move the country forward peacefully
~ Francis Atwoli on 9th September 2022
