William Ruto,
Conleth Brady – Licence CC BY-SA 2.0
In the fractious corridors of Kenyan power, endemic corruption remains a persistent shadow, casting doubt on the integrity of even the highest offices. President William Ruto, (proverbially known as WSR), ascended by dubious means to the presidency in 2022 on a platform of economic reform and anti-graft measures, has found himself at the centre of numerous allegations spanning decades. WSR is not new to politics. He is one of the founding members of the defunct Youth for KANU (YK’92) and perhaps the most prominent of all. He won his first parliamentary seat for Eldoret North in 1997 and rose through the ranks to the position of deputy president and in 2022 President.
While WSR has consistently denied direct involvement and positioned himself as a champion against corruption – establishing multi-agency teams in 2025 to tackle (or cover up) the issue – the nation’s critics argue his administration exemplifies “state capture,” where key institutions are manipulated to shield allies and stifle accountability. Kenya’s ranking of 121st out of 180 in Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index underscores the systemic challenges, with a score of just 32/100.
Drawing from reports by organisations like the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG), and international watchdogs, below lays out the key issues mounting up against WSR. These issues, many unresolved, highlight patterns of procurement irregularities, selective prosecutions, and extravagant spending amid economic hardship. Similar to Starmer in UK blaming everyone/everything but himself, WSR consistently dismissed them as politically motivated, even accusing Parliament and the judiciary of corruption to redirect scrutiny.
Echoes from the Past: Pre-Presidency Scandals
WSR’s political journey has been marred by early accusations that, while not always resulting in convictions, have fuelled public scepticism.
2004 Kenya Pipeline Company Fraud: As a young politician, WSR faced charges of defrauding the state-owned entity through inflated land deals and alleged kickbacks. Acquitted in 2011, the case was briefly reopened in 2020 amid tensions with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, but no further action ensued.
Kiambaa church Massacre 01 January 2008: The burning of the Kenyan Assemblies of God church in the Rift Valley village of Kiambaa was one of the most notorious incidents in the violence that left more than 1,000 dead across Kenya after the 2007 national vote. Thousands of youths from the Kalenjin tribe, armed with spears, machetes and arrows, descended on the church where Kikuyu tribe members were sheltering. This was one of the charges brought by the ICC against WSR. The case was dropped as WSR was at the time of trial (along with Kenyatta) on the Jubilee ticket as Deputy President for the 2013 elections.
2010 Maize Subsidy Scandal: Serving as Agriculture Minister, WSR was suspended over claims of favouritism in subsidised imported maize distribution to politically linked firms.
Known as the Briefcase millers, and existing only on paper, were given huge quantities of imported maize by the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR). They accomplished this by inflating their milling per-hour capacity and having 4 Permanent Secretaries approve them. These briefcase millers and local businesses were either awarded quotas by the SGR or import permits by the NCPBK respectively redirecting the bags of maize outside the country as well to avoid price controls stated by the government and thus make better profits.
Price Waterhouse Coopers carried out an audit which showed that WSR used his personal assistant to write a letter asking that National Cereals and Produce Board allocates an individual 1,000 bags monthly for 6 months. WSR survived an impeachment motion after the Speaker rejected documents presented before parliament linking him to the maize scandal. WSR blamed his political opponents for linking him to the scandal. Investigations cleared him, but the episode raised questions about transparency in agricultural subsidies.
2013 the Hustler Jet Scandal: This took place in May 2013, a month after the Jubilee Government took power and WSR serving as Deputy President.
WSR hired a private jet for Ksh 100 million for his ‘shuttled diplomacy’ in West Africa. The trip was to lobby West African countries to support their cause at the International Criminal Court. The trip cost taxpayers Ksh21 million for transport and accommodation. This amount excludes allowances paid to the 14 people who accompanied WSR.
The Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) investigated the scandal. It said Jubilee Government officials breached procurement regulations and procedures in the process of hiring the aircraft. In its report, PAC also criticised President Kenyatta for giving verbal rather than written directives to his deputy.
Uhuru, having instructed WSR to undertake the tour verbally, contrary to Article 135 of the Constitution, which requires the President to convey his decision on the performance of his functions in writing. However, PAC absolved WSR of any wrongdoing. It recommended several officials in his office to face prosecution. However, parliament later threw out this report and no one took responsibility.
2013 Land Grab Ruling: A court mandated WSR compensate a victim with Ksh 5 million (approximately $38,000) for unlawfully seizing land during the 2007-2008 post-election violence in Uasin Gishu County. He didn’t. This tied into broader ethnic clash allegations, though International Criminal Court (ICC) charges against him for crimes against humanity were dropped in 2016 due to lack of evidence.
2019 Weston Hotel Dispute: WSR acknowledged acquiring land for his Nairobi-based Weston Hotel irregularly but claimed ignorance at the time of purchase.
He offered government compensation, resolving the matter without formal charges placing controlling shares in his wife’s name.
These historical cases, often resolved in WSR’s favour, set the stage for scrutiny of his current tenure.
More to follow…
© AW Kamau 2026
