Ruto’s 2 foreign sons-in-law draw attention amid crackdown on foreigners in Kenya
By William Muthama, September 12, 2026President William Ruto’s controversial directive requiring foreign nationals to stay out of small-scale retail and hawking businesses, which has seen some foreigners return to their home countries, has drawn fresh attention to two foreign members of his family: his sons-in-law from Nigeria and Tanzania.
On Wednesday, September 2, 2026, Ruto told micro and small traders at State House that Kenya’s investment drive was meant to attract capital and create jobs rather than have foreigners compete with Kenyans in low-capital retail.
The directive triggered concern among some foreign nationals, with hundreds of Burundians seeking assistance at their embassy in Nairobi.
The government later announced a 90-day window for foreigners to regularise their immigration status, work permits and business licences.
It is against this backdrop that attention has turned to Ruto’s own family, which includes two foreign sons-in-law: Nigerian legal scholar Dr Alexander Paul Ezenagu and Tanzanian technology entrepreneur Isaya Yunge.
June Ruto’s Nigerian husband
President Ruto’s daughter June married Alexander Ezenagu in May 2021.
The Nigerian legal scholar specialises in international tax, trade and investment law. He holds an LLB from the University of Ibadan, an LLM from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate in international tax law from McGill University.
In September 2023, Strathmore University Business School appointed Ezenagu as the first director of its AfCFTA Policy and Development Hub and a senior research fellow.
Charlene Ruto’s Tanzanian husband
Ruto’s other daughter, Charlene, married Tanzanian technology entrepreneur Isaya Yunge in a traditional Kalenjin Koito ceremony held at the family’s Intonna farm in Kilgoris on August 8, 2026.
Yunge, 36, is from Mwanza and co-founded SomaApps, a scholarship-matching platform. He has also been involved in other technology ventures and received the Queen’s Young Leader Award in 2018.
The couple’s union has brought another foreign national into the First Family.
Yunge’s background is in technology and entrepreneurship, while Ezenagu’s career has centred on academia, international law and trade policy.
Ruto’s Nigerian son-in-law back in spotlight
The issue was brought into sharper focus on September 11 when Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale shared an old report about Ezenagu’s appointment at Strathmore University.
Khalwale posted a screenshot of a September 2023 news story headlined, “Ruto’s Nigerian Son-in-Law Lands Top Job at Strathmore University.”
“The government is giving our youth equal access to opportunity!” Khalwale captioned the post.
The remark appeared to be a sarcastic jab at President Ruto, coming days after the President ordered foreign nationals out of small-scale retail and hawking businesses, arguing that such opportunities should benefit Kenyans.
By highlighting the appointment of Ruto’s Nigerian son-in-law while the government is now pushing for greater opportunities for Kenyan youth, Khalwale appeared to draw attention to what he sees as a contradiction in the administration’s position on foreign participation in Kenya’s economy.