Nairobi photographer makes copy of Ruto’s red wedding jacket as Kenyans admire his look

A Nairobi photographer has recreated the red designer blazer President William Ruto wore at his daughter Charlene Ruto’s wedding, sharing photos of himself in an outfit inspired by the President’s much-discussed appearance.

The photographer, Lucky Mangera, shared the pictures on Facebook on Monday, November 9, 2026, showing himself holding his camera while dressed in a red patterned blazer similar to the one Ruto wore during Charlene’s wedding to Tanzanian entrepreneur Isaya Yunge.

He completed the look with a black bow tie, a white shirt and black trousers, giving himself an appearance closely resembling the President’s formal wedding outfit. In the photographs, he posed with his camera in hand, drawing a connection between the blazer that has attracted attention online and his own work as a photographer.

Lucky used the post to address the discussions that had followed the President’s appearance, particularly the online speculation about the blazer’s designer and price.

Ruto’s red jacket had been linked to Italian luxury fashion house Stefano Ricci, with reports and online discussions estimating its value at close to Ksh1 million.

The blazer featured a rich burgundy-red patterned finish, velvet lapels and collar, gold buttons and stud detailing around the cuffs. Ruto paired it with a white shirt, black bow tie, dark trousers, a cream fedora with a maroon band and a wooden walking cane.

The outfit was part of the President’s formal look at Charlene’s wedding, where his choice of clothing attracted attention from Kenyans discussing its design, luxury label and estimated cost. The Stefano Ricci piece was associated with the fashion house’s 50th Anniversary Collection, which drew inspiration from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

In his Facebook post, Sir Lucky observed that the blazer had turned ordinary social media users into fashion investigators, economists and luxury-brand experts as they tried to establish its designer and price.

“Since that wedding, social media has been doing what social media does best. People have become fashion investigators, economists, textile analysts and luxury-brand detectives overnight!” he wrote.

He also joked about the estimated price, contrasting the reported cost of the jacket with the financial pressures facing ordinary Kenyans, including rent, school fees, shopping and transport expenses.

“Apparently, the blazer has been linked to Stefano Ricci, the Italian luxury fashion house, with online discussions suggesting that it could be worth close to Ksh1 million. One million shillings! Wueh!” he added.

Sir Lucky also used the lengthy post to draw attention to the challenges facing photographers and other creatives, arguing that the attractive images shared online often conceal the financial and technical demands involved in producing professional work.

He pointed out that photographers have to invest in expensive cameras, lenses, drones and lighting equipment, while also spending considerable time selecting and editing images before delivering the final product.

“A client sees thirty seconds of a beautiful video, but rarely sees the hours that went into making it flow. They see the final photograph, beautifully retouched, not the hundreds of frames carefully reviewed and touched. A million-shilling blazer might trend for a week. But a beautifully captured memory can last generations. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I love what I do,” he wrote.

Steve is a senior writer with over four years of experience in digital journalism. His focus is on showbiz and human-interest stories. Emails: [email protected], [email protected]

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