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In a year filled with lots of memories of President William Ruto‘s journey to State House, it’s impossible to single out moments that defined his presidential campaigns and victory.

From being kicked out of Jubilee Party to the exhilarating news of his announcement of the 2022 presidential election, it was a year that brought Ruto happiness and good political fortunes.

We go down memory lane to bring you some of the memorable events of Ruto’s 2022 political journey to the State House.

Ruto kicked out of Jubilee Party

The supremacy war between Ruto and his former boss former President Uhuru Kenyatta reached a peak in February when the Jubilee National Delegates Convention kicked him out of the party in a meeting held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).

This move ended Ruto’s marriage with the former president and his five-year association with Jubilee Party that brought together The National Alliance and his United Republican Party (URP).

The NDC, which was presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta, also saw other Ruto supporters’ parties kicked out.

With his eye on the price, President Ruto happily moved on to the newly formed United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

Barely a month after he was unceremoniously kicked out of the Jubilee Party, Ruto was officially unveiled as party leader and flag-bearer of the UDA party in a colourful event that took place at the Kasarani Outdoor Gymnasium on March 15, 2022.

After accepting his nomination, Ruto immediately began assembling a team that would see him win the highly contested presidential election against all odds.

With President Uhuru Kenyatta declaring his support to Raila, Ruto used the opportunity to his advantage distancing himself from the Jubilee government’s economic failures in their second term while claiming ownership of Jubilee’s successes.

‘Teary’ Ruto

Known for his emotions, Ruto has never shied away from tearing up in public. He elicited mixed reactions a week to the election day when he was overcome by emotions, shedding tears during a church service held at his official residence in Karen, Nairobi.

In the clip that went viral, Ruto was seen trying to hold back tears and burying his face in his hands during the praise and worship session led by Bishop Mark Kariuki to pray for peaceful elections ahead of the polling day.

His wife, Rachel Ruto, was also captured in the video, standing next to him, singing along to a song.

After the church service, Ruto embarked on his campaign trail to drum up support for his presidential bid.

It was not the first time Ruto shed tears in public as he had previously broken into tears during a church service after a presidential election victory when they vied for the presidency with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Ruto went on to say that the general election was more of a spiritual battle than a political contest, thanking the church leaders, who he said had taken the burden of praying for Kenya ahead of the polls.

Ruto declared President-elect

After the long campaigns, came the big day, the announcement of the election results. Despite the scuffles and delays, Ruto waited patiently at the Bomas auditorium for Chebukati to declare the winner.

And shortly after 6:00pm, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairperson Wafula Chebukati announced Ruto as the president-elect.

A visibly happy Ruto took to the stage to hail the electoral commission as “heroes” after he was declared the winner with 7,176,141 votes, representing 50.49 percent of valid votes cast, beating his rival Azimio la Umoja flagbearer Raila Odinga who had 6,942,930 votes (48.85 percent).

Minutes before the chairman of the electoral commission announced that Ruto had won, his deputy Juliana Cherera together with three other commissioners disowned the results in a press conference held at Serena Hotel.

The move by the four commissioners paved way for another fierce battle in the Supreme Court, and after spending days hearing the submissions from all the parties, the judges came with a verdict that upheld Ruto’s win.

Emotional mood engulfed Ruto’s Karen residence immediately after the Supreme Court ruling.

Ruto, his wife Rachael and a host of Kenya Kwanza Alliance leaders had pitched a tent at the residence following the proceedings of the Supreme Court ruling.

When the verdict was finally announced, they burst into song, with Rachel leading the group in praising the almighty for the outcome.

“We give you all the glory, we worship you alone, You are worthy to be praised,” they sang.

The brief prayer session was punctuated by emotions, ostensibly of disbelief, as some in attendance fought back tears.

Ruto greeted his wife Rachel with a hug after the hymn, then turned to the rest of the team members to congratulate them as they began hugging each other.

Ruto’s inauguration

A week after the Supreme Court confirmed his win, Ruto took oath of office on September 13, 2022, officially taking over from President Uhuru Kenyatta as Kenya’s fifth president.

The former deputy president quickly signaled that his leadership would be a strong Christian one in his first speech after being sworn in.

Ruto, who had dropped to his knees in tears and prayer when the court upheld his win, once again knelt on the stage minutes after his swearing-in during an extended sermon.