President William Ruto’s daughter, Charlene, has publicly thanked her father for nurturing her passion for agriculture.
The two met at a beekeeping exhibition stand during the ongoing biennial Devolution Conference in Homa Bay, where the President was touring various innovation and agribusiness displays.
Charlene credited Ruto for instilling in her the values that shaped her farming journey.
“You know, every Easter, every Christmas, we used to go to the village, and this is the work that has come from me,” she said.
“We are working with traditional beekeepers so that we can modernise practices.”
She also assured the President of her commitment and the youth to supporting him in the plan to increase the forest cover.
“We are working with young people in agriculture, and so far, we have planted 754,000 trees to contribute to the 15 billion tree campaign. Thank you for your mentorship,” Charlene told the President.
Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, who was accompanying the Head of State, was overheard telling him, “She is a Homa Baiyan,” about Charlene’s presence at the county event.
Charlene, who runs a beekeeping initiative, said her passion for farming was rooted in her childhood.
Early last year, she revealed in a TV interview that her parents ensured the family spent every Easter and Christmas holiday in their rural home.
“At that time, I did not appreciate it and did not want to go, but now I see the value of the seed planted back then,” she recalled.
She explained that her family initially kept bees mainly for pollination services on their farm, but she later began to view it from an agribusiness perspective.
Seeing its potential, she rallied her neighbours to join her in beekeeping, making it both a business venture and a community initiative.
Charlene’s project now works with local farmers to modernise traditional beekeeping methods while also contributing to environmental conservation through large-scale tree planting.
