Woman warms crowd after requesting a hug from Ruto
By Cynthia Lodite, July 10, 2026A woman from Lang’ata warmed the crowd after she swiftly requested a hug from President William Ruto at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
The lighthearted incident occurred on Friday July 10, 2026 during the launch of the second phase of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme.
Amid the official proceedings, the bold attendee stepped forward, flashing a warm smile as she made her way directly toward the Head of State.
A heartwarming stage intrusion
Stepping up confidently, she caught the attention of the thousands in attendance when she politely asked, “Can I give you a hug?”
President Ruto gladly accepted the request and pulled her into an embrace, a move that sent the packed stadium into a frenzy of laughter and loud cheers. Capitalizing on the high spirits of the audience, the President quickly added humor to the casual interaction.
“Hiyo hug haina mambo. Nyinyi wacheni bwana… si ni namna hiyo?” he joked, triggering even more amusement from the crowd.
The young artist then seized the opportunity to explain her mission. She revealed that she had penned a creative piece years ago when Ruto was hitting the campaign trail, but lacked the opportunity to share it with him.
“When you were vying for president, I wrote something, but you never got to hear it because I never had the platform,” she explained.
Spoken word and Ksh3 Billion grants
Granted the microphone, she delivered a spoken word performance for the President. The arena broke out into finger snaps, chanting, and applause as she dropped her rhymes.
Before she could fully wind up her presentation, Ruto stepped back in with a witty remark.
“Asante sana. Tumpigie makofi huyu mrembo. Eeeei, kwani wewe ulikuwa umejipanga kiasi gani wewe? Naona kumbe ulikuwa umenipangia aya. Asante sana,” the President quipped, drawing a final round of thunderous applause.
The artistic break offered a refreshing interlude to an event geared toward economic empowerment. During the launch, Ruto oversaw the release of over Ksh3Billion targeting more than 122,000 young business owners across the country.
Each beneficiary received Ksh25,000 under the second tranche. To further cushion the micro-enterprises, the President announced a proposed two-year business permit waiver for NYOTA beneficiaries, alongside a specialized funding product and a national identification mechanism to ease access to government incentives.