President William Ruto on Wednesday, January 4, 2023, defended his daughter Charlene Ruto after her statement saying there was an office of the first daughter.
In a joint media interview at State House, the president said the remarks by his daughter were out of excitement, noting that there was no provision in the Constitution for the office Charlene mentioned.
“Leave my daughter Charlene alone, these are kids. They are just being children. You know very well that there is no office called the Office of the First Daughter.
“This is a girl who is being a child, you know? She has this space, and maybe her colleagues are pushing her… telling her ‘maybe we could do this’, but you know, she is… she is okay,” the president said.
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“She is just being the daughter of William Ruto, and sometimes she doesn’t know when to separate between me being the President of Kenya, and me being her father,” Ruto added.
Charlene Ruto came under sharp criticism after a video of her in Arusha, Tanzania emerged where she was introducing the team accompanying her describing it as the team from the office of the first daughter.
She later issued a statement clarifying that the office of the first daughter was not a public office nor is it funded by taxpayers.
“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 being run by Ms Charlene Ruto,” her statement read in part.
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Charlene further said the office of the first daughter is aimed at ensuring that young people have access to opportunities to support their livelihoods and has been on the push for climate change advocacy.