Emmanuel Jambo, the lensman behind Ruto’s official presidential portrait
Dr William Ruto's official presidential portrait.
Emmanuel Jambo is the man behind the lens that captured President William Ruto’s official presidential portrait, which has broken the usual design and quality used by his four predecessors.
“He came in good spirits, laughing and smiling the whole time. In less than 25 minutes, we were done,” Emmanuel said in a recent interview on Nation FM Drive with Anto Neosoul.
This is also not the first time he has worked with Kenya’s fifth president. The renowned South Sudanese photographer captured President Ruto’s essence on print when he was serving as deputy president.
“When we received him, we had a light moment about my dreadlocks. I joked that I had a pair of scissors in my pocket and asked if he wanted to cut my hair. Then he started laughing,” Emmanuel recalled the events of the photoshoot.
Editorial photography
President Ruto is now the first head of state to have the Kenyan flag in the background and also have three-dimensional quality in his portrait. Once again, Emmanuel had the privilege to capture yet another president’s official photo.
“The opportunity is very humbling. I feel blessed and honoured. I met President Ruto through President Uhuru in the beginning of their campaign for the 2013 election. Both of them are easy to work with,” he said.
Emmanuel Jambo with President William Ruto
“It feels good to walk into establishments, look at the photo and realise that is my work,” he said.
He was former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s official daily photographer in his first term. Soon, the work became overwhelming and left no time for Emmanuel to focus on travel, fashion and editorial photography, which he enjoyed more.
“It is a demanding and time-consuming job. However, I still worked with State House to take photos for important events and functions such as the family Christmas portrait.”
He has also taken portraits of many important people, including former US President Barack Obama, South Sudan President Salva Kiir, and former presidents of Zambia Rupiah Banda and Kenneth Kaunda, as well as many governors, MPs and senior government officials. He has also worked with his favourite magazine, National Geographic and Forbes Africa.
“It has opened many doors and built my profile to the extent that CEOs, governors and members of Parliament want to work with me because of being linked to the head of state,” he said.
Emmanuel moved to Kenya in 2007 after he decided to prolong his visit to see his sister, who is also a photographer. Almost 15 years later, he is one of the most sought-after photographers in Kenya with over 28,000 followers on Instagram.
He has also been a wedding photographer for 13 years but prefers interviewing couples before working with them.
“As a photographer, you will end up spending the whole day with a couple on their wedding day. It is important to have and see good chemistry between the couple. That is why I have become picky with the weddings I shoot.”
