Tanzanian entrepreneur Isaya Yunge, 36, became the centre of national attention on Saturday, August 8, 2026, after his traditional engagement to President William Ruto’s daughter, Charlene Ruto, at the Intona Heritage Farm in Kilgoris, Narok County.
The colourful Koito ceremony, rooted in Kalenjin custom, drew a roster of senior state officials, among them Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, ODM leader Oburu Odinga, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja. Guests observed a brown-and-green dress code, with Charlene in a brown dress and Yunge in a matching suit, as the couple joined attendees in traditional Kalenjin dances.
Yunge is the co-founder and chief executive of SomaApps Technologies, the firm behind SomaApp, a mobile platform that has connected more than 7,000 young Africans with local and international scholarship opportunities they might otherwise have missed. Beyond SomaApp, he has founded KAYA, an artificial-intelligence-powered smart speaker for data collection, and Somafit, a health-monitoring smartwatch, reflecting his broader push to expand mobile technology and digital innovation across the continent.
His path to prominence was far from privileged. Raised largely by his grandmother, Yunge spent part of his childhood herding cattle and working on rice plantations before rising to become head prefect at Taqwa High School in Mwanza and, later, chairperson of Tanzania’s Junior Council in 2006. He went on to serve as a UNICEF African Youth Ambassador and, in 2007, became the first African youth leader to address a G8 Summit in Germany, then aged just 17.
Academically, Yunge holds a Bachelor of Science in Insurance and Risk Management from the Institute of Finance Management and has undertaken further studies at the University of Cambridge, the Fletcher School at Tufts University and Sweden’s Institute for sustainable business models.
His accolades include the GSMA Mobile Money Africa Hackathon award in 2017, a spot on Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 list, the Queen’s Young Leaders Award in 2018, and recognition among Tanzania’s 50 Most Influential Young People in 2019. He is also an Ashoka Fellow and an alumnus of the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Programme.
The engagement brings together two young public figures whose relationship had, until recently, stayed largely out of the spotlight, setting the stage for continued public interest as wedding preparations advance.
