Ruto Clarifies That The Cost Of Hiring The Presidential Jet Stood At Sh10 Million

By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga 

Worth Noting:

• One, the cost of presidential jet that flew Dr Ruto and his entourage to US and back home. The total cost was said to be Sh200 million.
• Two, on arrival at Anlanta, Georgia, he was given a cold reception.
• Some would allege that the President was received by a mayor who is equivalent of a member of county assembly (MCA) in Kenya.
• But when he landed in Washington DC I never heard the critics make the claims.
• Here, President Ruto was received by the wife of host, US President Joe Biden, and top government officials.
• Three, Kenya’s heeding the call to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO) as non-Nato ally.

President William Ruto has dismissed claims that his government spent Sh200 million to hire the presidential jet that flew him and his entourage to United States of America.

He said contrary to impression created by his critics, the trip cost less than Sh10 million..

A huge chunk of the money used to hire the luxurious Jet was paid by our friends.

President Ruto chose the venue of National Breakfast Prayer event at Safari Park Hotel to clarify this matter.

He observed that his government has so many friends. Why should one be envious of their generosity of chipping in?

The issue of the jet has this or that is neither here nor there. Our friends wanted us to use this jet.

As a writer and political analyst, I had earlier followed with keen interest President William Ruto’s state visit to United States of America (USA).

The critics of the President would draw much of my attention.

Kenya did not reap anything that is worth to talk about. As such, the visit was a waste of time besides being a burden to tax payers.

In trying to justify the allegations, they would list three reasons.

One, the cost of presidential jet that flew Dr Ruto and his entourage to US and back home. The total cost was said to be Sh200 million.

Two, on arrival at Anlanta, Georgia, he was given a cold reception.

Some would allege that the President was received by a mayor who is equivalent of a member of county assembly (MCA) in Kenya.

But when he landed in Washington DC I never heard the critics make the claims.

Here, President Ruto was received by the wife of host, US President Joe Biden, and top government officials.

Three, Kenya’s heeding the call to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO) as non-Nato ally.

These criticisms were also ill-advised, baseless and politically motivated.

Let me explain why. The decision to join NATO was a well thought out.

As we know, the threats posed by Al Shabaab and ISIS could not be swept under the carpet.

The previous governments of Kenya had not succeeded ending the recurring menace and fighting organized criminal gangs. The situation was exacerbated by political instability witnessed in our neighboring countries.

During the campaigns Dr Ruto declared that he will personally lead efforts aimed at restoring peace and security in Kenya and in the region.

By joining Nato, Pentagon, US military headquarters, and their allies will start offering special training to members of Kenya Defense Forces (KDF). The allies will also support our soldiers financially.

This support will go along way in fast-tracking KDF’s logistic issues and enhancing operational capabilities.

It is worth noting that this development had been preceded by two leaders signing security and peace agreements.

The debate around the issue of who had received President when he arrived is cheap propaganda.

First, allow me to make this clear. The Mayor is a senior state officer in US and so you cannot compare him with an MCA.

Being a state visit, the host, President Joe Biden was fully in charge of Dr Ruto’s itinerary.

So, I’m sure he had already spoken with state officials in Atalanta and asked them to accord him a warm reception.

Remember each state in US is semi autonomy. This means it has enacted its own laws.

President Biden has no legal power to dictate the way the state run its affairs.

It is worth to note this. Atalanta is the capital city of state of Georgia. It is a commercial and business hub.

This is unlike Washington DC which is the seat of US government.

I’m sure the critics would have loved to see our President being snubbed in Washington DC. They got ashamed.

Besides Biden’s wife, he was received by top government officials.

At White House, he was accorded full honors. He inspected a guard of honor mounted by US military and received gun salute.

Besides Biden, he held talks with US Secretary of State Blinken and Defense Secretary. The latter hosted him at the Pentagon.

Responding to queries touching on hiring of the jet, President Ruto stated. Hiring this plane was much cheaper compared to using a Kenya Airway (KQ) aeroplane. I’m sure his remarks were based on experts opinion.

The media quoted a comment Dr Ruto had posted in one of his social media handle.

By focussing on reception, the critics had turned deaf to the real issue. The question should have been. Did the trip meet the expectations of Kenyans? The answer is Yes. President Ruto returned back with bagful of goodies totalling to Sh1.2 trillion.

A week before Dr Ruto and his delegation flew out, I wrote in this column an article focusing on debate on whether he address the joint US Congress.

In his response, Speaker Johnson Mike stated that the house was ready to give him this rare opportunity.

He however said the Kenyan head of state will meet and address members of US Congressional Delegation which he will personally lead.

This meeting took place a day before US President Joe Biden hosted his Kenyan counterpart President William Ruto at White House.

The bilateral talks focussed on a wide range of issues of mutual interest between the two nations.

After the talks, the two leaders addressed a joint press conference.

Biden stated that the United States of America will continue support Kenya in different sectors of development.

This visit comes at the right time.

While bearing in mind the visit coincides with 60 years of US-Kenya diplomatic relations, it will deepen and strengthen our ties.

On his part, President Ruto echoed Biden’s sentiments. He listed the areas of cooperation and stated that Kenya will continue to cultivate and play a bigger role. This is in strengthening our ties for mutual benefits of our peoples.

Mr President, America has so far played a key role in lifting Kenya. We appreciate your support.

When Dr Ruto left the country, I wrote in this column that Kenya was poised to reap big from this visit.

In day one of this visit, the President was hosted by top managers of the Center for Diseases Control (CDC).

After the talks, he witnessed the signing of lucrative deals and agreements by members of his delegation and the Center’s officials.

It is worth noting that the CDC had over years been helping Kenya to battle infectious diseases, in research work and development of vaccines.

President Ruto thanked officials of Center for agreeing to redouble this support.

Dr Ruto had earlier presented a powerful speech at Jimmy Carter Library which mainly focussed on Democracy, good governance and the war against corruption.

He minced no word in challenging the powerful nations including the US that embraced democratic values and principles to help in entrenching these virtues to developing countries.

In Kenya, he reiterated his commitment to win the war against corruption is unstoppable.

Dr Ruto later held talks with the chief executives of the world renowned Coca Cola beverages company. The executives agreed to increase their investments in Kenya to the tune of 23 billion.

President Ruto also managed to strike a deal during which the US agreed to give Kenya financial support totalling to Sh478 billion.

Notably, before his host, President Joe Biden, sent out this invitation, he had called Dr Ruto and discussed the issues that will feature during the bilateral talks.

This is a big honor for President Ruto. He will join the six world leaders who had been hosted by a sitting President of US for such forum at White House. They include Prime Ministers of Japan India, South Korea, Australia and Canada.

It is worth noting that President Ruto had previously made three visits to the US. But the latest one is a land mark one because it is a state visit.

I’m sure this visit will also give Dr Ruto an opportunity to review the progress of the deals and agreements he had signed earlier with chief executives and industries of US big companies.

Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi