President William Ruto has lately been making fashion statements through his outfits, and the crux of the dresses seems to be: "It's never that serious".
On Wednesday, he snubbed the almost obligatory suit for someone holding an office like his in favour of a Kaunda suit when he received US chief trade adviser and spokesperson on trade policy Katherine Tai. He also wore one when he travelled to Kericho to launch a water supply project in Ainamoi.
What’s more, the President's aide-de-camp (ADC) no longer has to appear in public in uniform, as has been the case for as long as Kenyans can remember.
President William Ruto (left), National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula (right) and Colonel Fabian Lengusuranga, the President’s ADC (in beige jacket behind Dr Ruto) on January 15 during a church service and thanksgiving event at Bomet Green Stadium.
Photo credit: Courtesy | @NACommitteeKE
The man who combines the President's security and planning functions, who has been a constant presence in presidential photographs standing behind Kenyan presidents, is now allowed to carry out his official duties while wearing an ordinary suit. And he is not always required to stand behind Dr Ruto.
"Even at (some) public events, the ADC remains seated," a member of Dr Ruto's press team told Nation.Africa, adding that the "softening" of the aide-de-camp's image has been going on since December, when Dr Ruto was just three months into his term.
"He is moving with the times; moving away from the African big man syndrome," the official said.
Back to the Kaunda suits, there are observers who approve of the President's latest wardrobe change. Among them is fashion entrepreneur Maryne Keseri, one of the President's fashion designers. She told Nation.Africa that Dr Ruto looked "really good" in the black Kaunda suits.
"We have never seen him in a Kaunda suit before. The Kaunda suit and hat looked really good on him," she said.
President William Ruto held talks with Ambassador Katherine Tai, the Principal Trade Advisor and Spokesperson on US Trade Policy at State House on July 19, 2023.
Photo credit: Courtesy
But there are critics. Prof Levi Obonyo, the dean of the School of Communication at Daystar University, wrote in the People Daily on June 16, that the President's "oscillation and experimentation with a range of outfits sends a confusing message about his self-identity".
L-R: Mwai Kibaki, Daniel Moi and former PM Raila Odinga.
Photo credit: File
Prof Obonyo said presidents around the world have created an identity through the way they dress — from Julius Nyerere to Yoweri Museveni and Nelson Mandela. In Dr Ruto's case, he said, it is experimentation galore.
"In the history of the presidency, Moi and Kibaki have been the standard-bearers. They took into account the psychology of the office and the power that comes with it. This far into President William Ruto's term, the wardrobe officers should be done with their experiments and develop a consistent identity for the President," said Prof Obonyo.
"Whoever made the piece did a good job. Maybe they should do a few more pieces like this," said Ms Keseri, who rose to fame by designing some of the shirts Dr Ruto wore during his presidential campaigns.
On Wednesday, he snubbed the almost obligatory suit for someone holding an office like his in favour of a Kaunda suit when he received US chief trade adviser and spokesperson on trade policy Katherine Tai. He also wore one when he travelled to Kericho to launch a water supply project in Ainamoi.
Photo credit: PCS
"As a president, he needs to appear more in suits. But I wish he could wear suits for official things, and then for very light moments, like the Talanta Hela thing that happened at State House recently, I wish he would come out with something very casual: some khaki trousers and some nice shoes, you know?" added Ms Keseri.
Another instance when Dr Ruto ventured out in a Kaunda suit was when he visited Djibouti in early June. He wore a sky-blue one.
The President's aide-de-camp (ADC) no longer has to appear in public in uniform, as has been the case for as long as Kenyans can remember.
Photo credit: PCS
The Kaunda suit originated in Australia in the 1970s, when a lawmaker thought it would be appropriate to wear to the federal parliament in the north of the country. At the time, it was known as the safari suit, because its lightweight design and short sleeves made it ideal for long, hot journeys. In 1974, a speaker in Australia allowed lawmakers to wear it to parliament, and it caught on.
Somehow the safari suit found its way into the royal family and was worn by Prince Charles when he visited Australia in 1983 with his wife, Princess Diana.
This file photo taken on February 28, 1990, shows Zambia's president Kenneth Kaunda (2nd L) and South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela (L) attending a press conference at the Presidential House in Lusaka. - Zambia's first President.
Photo credit: AFP
It didn't take long for the clothes to make their way to Africa. Kenyan tailors are credited with dubbing it the Kaunda suit, thinking it was a way of paying homage to Kenneth Kaunda, the Zambian president who made the suit his trademark.
“It is said by many that the Kaunda suit was worn for its casual, stylish comfort under the hot equatorial sun. I believe at some point during his presidency, Kaunda made the switch to what became his style of choice. He, in the past, stated it was enterprising Kenyans who replicated this suit, and so as not to upset him, called it the Kaunda suit. He told it with mirth,” fashion columnist Carol Odero wrote in the Sunday Nation in 2021, following the death of Kaunda.
Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere casts his ballot to vote for his successor, on October 27, 1985, in Dar es Salam, Tanzania, during presidential elections.
Photo credit: AFP File
Around the world, political leaders have donned various iterations of the safari suit, including Mao Zedong and the dynastic leaders of North Korea.
Closer home, Presidents Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi and Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo are known to have donned versions of the Kaunda suit. Some wearers go full safari suit and don hats that were intended to make them travel garments. Others don't use the hat.
Will Dr Ruto adopt the Kaunda suit as his signature style? Probably not, said Ms Keseri.
President William Ruto and Uganda President Yoweri Museveni in a past event.
Photo credit: FIle
"I feel that the places he goes to sometimes don't allow him to wear much of it because three or four times a week he is out of the country; he is attending meetings with other presidents in other countries and so on," she said.
"I wouldn't say it's a full suit. I would say it's not that serious. If you wear a suit, it means business. But when you wear a Kaunda suit, I'd say it's playful, it's fashionable, it makes a statement, and all that. If someone is wearing a Kaunda suit and other people are wearing full suits, they stand out more than the others, even if there is someone in a pink suit. You won't fail to notice someone in a Kaunda. So a Kaunda suit is not very official, but it's nice and it makes you look youthful, playful, fashionable and stylish," said Ms Keseri.
A graduate of electronic engineering from the Multimedia University of Kenya, Ms Keseri currently dabbles in both fashion and engineering. Her parting shot was that the designers of Dr Ruto's Kaunda suits should use brighter colours.
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi (L) is greeted by Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye (R) as he arrives for the extraordinary Summit of East African Community Heads of State at the state house in Bujumbura, Burundi, on February 4, 2023.
Photo credit: AFP
"They should stop making very dull pieces," she said. "He is dark-skinned. So he gets lost in these (dark) colours. If you look at what I used to do for him, I did a lot of very bright colours, a lot of yellows."
She continued: "He completely disappears in the black clothes. They made him wear black shoes, a black Kaunda and a black hat. Imagine that ... They should try bright colours; not the super-bright ones, but ones that at least make him stand out.
