Charlene Ruto Defends Office of First Daughter, Says It is Privately Funded

President Ruto’s second-born daughter Charlene Ruto has defended the existence of the Office of the First Daughter following an online backlash.

Charlene came under harsh criticism from Kenyans online after introducing members of the staff who work with her at the Office of the First Daughter.

“Before again I continue, I wanted to introduce quickly my team from Kenya. So, I’ll start with 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…” Charlene said while delegates at the 2022 YouLead Summit held at the East African Community (EAC) headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, on Tuesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, Charlene clarified that the office is a private entity that runs on the support of “facilitators” and not taxpayers’ funds.

“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,” read the statement.

“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.”

Since her father assumed office as the country’s fifth president, Charlene has been going around the country, meeting various county leaders, and even flying out to meetings with foreign dignitaries. In a recent interview, she introduced herself as a climate change activist and a voice for the youth.

“Since our president loves the youth so much, we already have a seat on the table, but who is going to push for the youth? That is why I decided to be that person and I’m going to be a voice for the youth and stand up for them and the communities,” she said.