Charlene Ruto, daughter of Kenya’s President defends ‘Office of the First Daughter’

President William Ruto’s daughter Charlene Ruto, has left netizens tongues wagging once again while introducing staff members of the  ‘Office of the First Daughter’ while speaking to an audience during a summit.

 “So before again I continue, I wanted to introduce quickly my team from Kenya. So, I’ll start from the back. This is Mike Sagana, he’s one of my team members. He’s a politician and he’s my principal advisor in my team. And this is Jermaine Momanyi, he is the head of trade and investments at the office of the first daughter…” she said during her presentation before the audience started clapping and burst into laughter. 

“I don’t get what’s funny,” Charlene responded, seeming not to understand the reaction of the audience. 

Her remarks left netizens puzzled with varied reactions from Kenyans overflowing on social media.  The existence of such an office has not been announced or constituted, hence it remains unknown how the office was established.

Shortly after, Charlene published a statement clarifying her remarks. 

“The Office of the First Daughter is a private entity. It is neither a constitutional office nor is it being funded by Kenyan taxpayers. The office runs to purely facilitate the activities of & any programs being run by Ms Charlene Ruto,” the statement read.

“Through its independent structure, and facilitators, the office has engaged various players across the country and beyond in line with some of its objectives of championing youth-based agendas and climate change advocacy, she explained. 

“The Office of the First Daughter has at all times acted in good faith to ensure that the Kenyan Youth have a voice and get access to opportunities to enable sustainable livelihoods,” Charlene added.

Her role in the government still remains unclear though she continues to actively participate in different forums while engaging her online followers.