June Ruto, the daughter of Deputy President William Ruto on May 27, 2021 married Nigerian national Dr. Alexander Ezenagu in a ceremony in Karen, Nairobi.
The ceremony occurred after Deputy President William Ruto had weeks earlier played host to his Nigerian in-laws as he embarked on giving his daughter June Ruto away for marriage.
The glamourous engagement part saw the merging of two cultures, the Kalenjin community and their counterparts from Nigeria – the Igbos. The couple of the day was June and Dr Alexander Ezenagu, following successful negotiation of the bride price.
The Nigerian national has an impressive professional portfolio having pursued law with an incline to international trade and taxes.
According to his website, Dr Ezenagu is an assistant professor in the College of Law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Qatar.
He is a trade and international tax law expert, having obtained his Ph.D. in international tax law from McGill University, Canada.
Dr Ezenagu specialises in international tax law, domestic taxes, tax avoidance, and commercial aspects of illicit financial flows, trade, and investment advisory.
As a professor, he teaches Business Associations, Construction and Infrastructure Development Law, Global Economic Law and Governance, Entrepreneurship Law, Global Legal Ethics and Law of Taxation.
The Nigerian profession graduated from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, where he obtained a masters degree in Commercial Law.
He holds an LLB from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and has been admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
He has also had multiple publications in academic journals and other globally recognized platforms and has been quoted in the Financial Times, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ Paradise Papers, Tax Notes International, International Tax Review, Quartz and other media outlets.
He has also consulted for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CODA)- an African Union Commission body, TaxCoop Canada, the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI).
Dr. Ezenagu supports countries in developing effective fiscal regimes and has worked with governments to introduce fiscal reforms. He is currently designing a course, Developmental Governance, which looks at the influences on the developmental models adopted by developing countries.
At the engagement ceremony, one of the negotiators, Nigerian politician Osita Chidoka, noted that the Kalenjin people of Kenya had so much in common with the Igbos of Nigeria.
“June’s father kept the event small and simple and family-focused. His position as Deputy President was relegated as he played the role of a father. Ruto and his wife were great hosts,” he observed.
