Charlene Ruto, daughter of President William Ruto, married Tanzanian technology entrepreneur Isaya Yunge on Friday in a white wedding ceremony at the Malaika Beach Resort along the shores of Lake Victoria, culminating a cross-border romance that began with a traditional Kalenjin engagement in August.
The outdoor ceremony was attended by family, friends and prominent political figures from both Kenya and Tanzania, including National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
President Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto, dressed in coordinated maroon attire, escorted their daughter down a mirrored walkway towards a white floral arch.
Charlene wore a ball-gown silhouette with three-dimensional floral embellishments and a cathedral-length veil, while Yunge, 36, wore a white double-breasted jacket with black trousers.
Bridesmaids in red off-the-shoulder dresses preceded the bride, and the newlyweds later posed beneath plumes of coloured smoke fireworks overlooking the water.
During the wedding vows, Charlene revealed that she had prayed for her future husband for 16 years, beginning in her first year of high school.
“I started praying for you 16 years ago when I was in my first year of high school. I didn’t know you. I had never met you,” she told Yunge. She described the wait as a “long marathon” of prayer and fasting, admitting that “it reached a point I was giving up. I had prayed, I had waited, my impatience was growing”.
She credited her mother for sustaining faith throughout the process. In a message accompanying bridal shower photographs shared days earlier, Charlene had reflected on the role of faith in her journey towards marriage.
“Christ as our solid foundation and rock, the Word to guide my next step,” Charlene wrote.
She also recalled writing a list of qualities she hoped for in a husband, explaining how her expectations evolved over time.
“In every sentence I wrote, I put a full stop. But God put a comma. When I finished at number 15, he continued to number 16, 17 and beyond,” she said. “You are more than I could ever have asked for, dreamed for or imagined”.
Speaker Wetang’ula also offered his blessing to the newlyweds after the ceremony, quoting Proverbs 18:22 as he wished them well in their marriage.
“He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favour from the Lord.” He added: “May your home be filled with peace, joy and countless blessings as you build a bright future together”.
Yunge’s journey to marrying into Kenya’s first family was marked by humble beginnings. Born in Mwanza on March 23, 1990, he was raised by his grandmother after his parents separated, spending part of his childhood herding goats and cattle and working on rice plantations. He started school at the age of seven.
He later studied Insurance and Risk Management at the Institute of Finance Management in Dar es Salaam before undertaking further training at the Swedish Institute and Cambridge.
Yunge co-founded SomaApps Technologies, the company behind SomaApp, a mobile platform connecting African students with scholarship opportunities.
His business portfolio also includes KAYA, an artificial intelligence-powered smart speaker, and Somafit, a health-monitoring smartwatch.
His net worth is estimated at between $3 million and $5 million. In 2018, he received the Queen’s Young Leaders Award from the late Queen Elizabeth II and was previously named among Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30.
The couple’s wedding celebrations began with the traditional Kalenjin Koito ceremony on August 8, 2026, at President Ruto’s Intonna Heritage Farm in Kilgoris, Narok County. The ceremony was attended by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and other senior government officials.
A bridal shower in Nairobi followed on November 3, where Charlene expressed gratitude to the women in her life ahead of the wedding.
Charlene, 33, is the third child of President Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto. She studied Communication at Daystar University before earning an MBA in Hospitality Management from a Swiss institution.
She leads the SMACHS Foundation, an organisation focused on youth empowerment, climate action and agriculture.
Check out photos from the wedding below;
