American RnB singer Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam, best known internationally as Akon has congratulated Kenya's president-elect Willi...
American RnB singer Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam, best known internationally as Akon has congratulated Kenya's president-elect William Ruto.
In his message, the singer referred to Dr Ruto as his brother, leaving a number of Kenyans online in awe.
“Congratulations to my dear brother William Ruto as he is declared winner of the Presidential Election in Kenya,” Akon’s message read.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate polled 7,176, 141 (50.49 per cent) to secure the 50 per cent plus one requirement, edging out his main challenger, Azimio la Umoja - One Kenya Coalition’s Raila Odinga who got 48.85 percent of the total votes cast.
The president-elect is yet to respond to Akon’s congratulatory message, however, many Kenyans in the comment section took it upon themselves to express gratitude to the
Lonely hitmaker on behalf of Dr Ruto.
Read: Biggest ‘winners’ of Ruto presidency
Akon is a Senegalese-American hip-hop songwriter, singer, and producer. He rose to fame when his single
Locked Up, which was released in 2004. He is the only artiste to ever achieve the number one and number two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100.
Akon's music is a mix of West-African style vocals, along with both East Coast and Southern-style beats. His solo album
Trouble was released in 2004, which generated the singles
Locked Up, Lonely and ‘
Ghetto among others.
Locked Up is said to have been inspired by a three-year jail term that Akon served for committing grand theft auto. The song reached the top 10 in the US and the top five in the UK. The song
Ghetto became a hit when it was remixed to include verses from 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G.
Akon achieved his first solo number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single
Don't Matter.
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