Is Charlene Ruto Kenya’s Answer To Ivanka Trump?
She is President William Ruto’s second-eldest child and calls herself Kenya’s First Daughter, but social media users are asking why Charlene Ruto seems to be meeting so many government ministers and taking foreign trips.
In the months since her father was elected president, local media report that Ms. Ruto has met several county officials across Kenya as well as ministers abroad.
Similar concerns were raised when former US President Donald Trump was first elected and his daughter Ivanka attended meetings with her father as an unofficial advisor. Mr. Trump later appointed Ivanka to an official government role.
On Thursday, Charlene Ruto said on Twitter she’d met Morocco’s youth minister, Mohammed Mehdi, for a “conversation and exchange of ideas that will go a long way in shaping youth development projects for both nations”.
Some Kenyans are now asking, who is footing the bill for all these meetings, and are they in an official capacity?
4.4 million Kenyans are facing starvation and Charlene Ruto is traversing counties and countries with somebody’s money? Whose money is that? Does it belong to Kenyan taxpayers? Before we ask Kenyans to donate, shouldn’t we know how govt is using the funds it already has? 🤔
— Nahashon Kimemia (@NahashonKimemia) November 11, 2022
What other appointment does Charlene Ruto hold apart from being the President’s daughter? https://t.co/Yv3WaJTq3B
— WHISPERS✍🏿 (@TheBlackPundit) November 11, 2022
The BBC has reached out to the office of President William Ruto but has not yet had a response.