Yunge: The cattle herder from Tanzania who gets to marry Charlotte, the daughter of the President of Kenya

When Dr William Ruto moved into the Nairobi state house as the new president of Kenya, his first gesture was to welcome a church choir from Mwanza, in the neighboring Tanzania to sing for him.

Whether it was by coincidence or arrangement, little did people know that the President’s daughter will also get a husband from Mwanza.

A young and former cattle herder in Tanzania, coming from a broken family, is the man who now gets to marry the daughter of the President of Kenya, Ms Charlene Ruto.

Yunge was the man at the centre of Charlene Ruto’s Koito ceremony, an event which made headlines across the East African Region due to its lavish nature and the hundreds of choppers that filled the park yard.

“Today, Mama Rachel Ruto and I celebrate with grateful hearts as our daughter Charlene begins a beautiful new chapter with her fiancé, Isaya,” President Ruto wrote, adding that he and the First Lady were proud and would always stand beside their daughter.

A little boy appeared alongside President William Ruto during his daughter Charlene’s traditional engagement celebrations.

The question which buzzed around was whether the boy is the President’s grandson, meaning Yunge and Charlene already have a child.

Anyway, back to the bridegroom from Tanzania.

A rag to riches story Isaya Yunge was born on March 23, 1990, in Mwanza Region and bred along the Tanzanian shores of Lake Victoria.

Yunge’s parents separated when he was young, resulting in him moving between foster homes.

His formal education also started relatively late, at around seven years old, and before entering school he spent time herding animals while other children were attending classes.

Apparently, it was Yunge’s difficult childhood circumstances that would eventually play an important role in shaping his interest in education and opportunities for disadvantaged young people.

He spent part of his childhood around the streets of Mwanza, where he encountered children facing difficult circumstances.

One of the education institutions that Yunge attended include the Daniel Ole Njoolay Secondary School, which was built during the tenure of Mr Njoolay, and named after this former Arusha Regional Commissioner who was later transferred to be the governor of Mwanza.

After entering secondary school, he began bringing street children together during his free time and teaching them basic mathematics and English.

And he would then shoot up from there.

Isaya Yunge holds a bachelor’s degree from the Institute of Finance Management (IFM) in Dar-es-salaam and has studied at the University of Cambridge.

Yunge also received the Queen’s Young Leaders Award in 2018 from the late Queen Elizabeth II for his work using technology to develop sustainable solutions and improve communities.

Yunge already met the Queen of England, which means he should be quite comfortable being around top leaders, including a Kenyan Head of State.

In 2019, he was named among Tanzania’s 50 most influential young people.

At the moment, Yunge, is an internet entrepreneur and the co-founder and chief executive of SomaApps Technologies, the company behind SomaApp, a mobile platform that connects African students with scholarship opportunities.