Kenya’s President William Ruto has denied the existence of the “Office of the First Daughter,” a title under which his daughter Charlene has held several high-profile events and meetings.
In Kenyan law, no such office exists.
On Wednesday, President Ruto denied the existence of such an office, according to BBC News.
“Leave my daughter Charlene alone, you know these are kids, they’re just being children, you know very well that there is no such office…. she is just being the daughter of William Ruto and sometimes she doesn’t know the divide between the president and the father,” Mr Ruto told journalists at State House, Nairobi.
The activities of the president’s daughter had prompted questions over whether she was spending taxpayers’ money.
In December 2022, she denied that taxpayers’ money was being spent by the so-called office.
Charlene has faced a backlash on Twitter for laying claim to such an office. The criticism was heightened when she introduced her delegation to Tanzania as members of staff at the Office of the First Daughter.
In a press statement issued in December 2022, Charlene said she referred to the entity handling her diary as Office of the First Daughter in a private capacity, adding that it is neither constitutional nor funded by the public.
“The Office of the First Daughter is a private entity. It is neither a constitutional office nor is it being funded by Kenyan taxpayers. It runs to purely facilitate the activities and any programs by Ms. Charlene Ruto,” she said.
“The Office of the First Daughter has at all times acted in good faith to ensure that the Kenyan youth have a voice and get access to opportunities to enable sustainable livelihoods.”
“Through its independent structure and facilitators, the office has engaged various players across Kenya and beyond in line with some of its objectives of championing youth-based agendas and climate change advocacy,” Charlene added.