Ruto recalls Moi’s mistreatment and KANU frustrations after his political entry
By Kenneth Mwenda, October 6, 2025President William Ruto on Monday, October 6, 2025, shared how former President Daniel arap Moi and the KANU establishment frustrated his early steps in politics when he first vied for a parliamentary seat.
Speaking at State House during the launch of Marsden Madoka’s book At The Ready, Ruto reflected on his time as a young and unknown candidate within KANU, describing himself as an underdog who had to fight against a powerful political system.
Ruto said that when he first decided to run for Member of Parliament, he was not among KANU’s favourites.
“And of course, KANU was the dominant party, and President Moi was a very strong leader. And so when I decided to run, I wasn’t the favorite for the KANU Party. There were senior people, there were people whose brands were known,” he said.
He recalled that during his campaign, he had to convince voters who hardly knew him.
“I was really the underdog, you know, and people didn’t know me, we didn’t have a history of any leadership in our family,” he said.
“And the closest, in fact, I remember during the campaign, for me to, for people to understand who I was, I had to make reference to one of our neighbours. I said, oh, you know that Mzee Paul Boit, he was formerly chairman of the county council in Uasin Gishu, and he was a fairly wealthy person. So I used to say, I am a neighbour of Paul Boit. That is the closest I came to in terms of brand.”
“So the reason why I was fairly outspoken initially was because I felt I hadn’t been treated well by both KANU and the leader of KANU then, the former president, President Moi, who later became a very good friend of mine, after he understood me.”
Ruto said Moi personally campaigned against him in Eldoret, urging voters to support people who are known.
“So when I ran in the KANU elections, the KANU machine was really against me, and Moi himself came to Eldoret and told people, please, elect people who are known,” Ruto said.
“He mentioned the name of a former member of parliament. He mentioned the name of another very wealthy and known person called Chesire. And he said, I understand there are some characters running around here, you know, and we don’t know them. So be very careful. So, and I was in the crowd there, you know, okay, but it didn’t deter me, I ran, and finally I defeated these big people in the Kanu nominations.”
Moi’s doubts over Ruto
Despite the odds, Ruto defeated his well-known rivals in the KANU nominations. But even after winning, he said Moi still made it clear that he did not know him.
“So then we were all KANU now nominees. And then President Moi came to Eldoret for the presidential rally. Now I have been nominated. We were three people nominated in Uasin Gishu,” Ruto recalled.
“So then President Moi is there and he says, okay. He, of course, campaigned, asked for his votes, and then he said, okay, and there are people who have been elected here, members of parliament. In fact, one of the members of parliament, one of the three had been elected unopposed. He was called Mr. Tarar. So he said, thank you very much. You have elected Mr. Tarar and opposed.”
“And then there was another teacher there. He had also been nominated. And then myself. And so when it came to me, he said, then there is this other one, who, I don’t know his parents. But anyway, he has been, because he has been nominated as a member of KANU, please support for him.
He said he felt it was unfair to be judged for lacking a famous background.
“Not having a background became a big problem during my election,” he said.
After winning, Ruto became known as an outspoken young MP, which drew Moi’s attention.
“Moi later asked Bishop Yego and Hosea Kiplagat to talk to me because I was making too much noise,” he said.
“Bishop Yego told me, ‘Moi is like your father. Where is your Christianity and respect?’ They cornered me, and I had to tone down.”
Ruto ended by acknowledging that despite the rough start, he and Moi later became close, saying the former president eventually “understood” him.