President Uhuru Kenyatta quietly leaves the country for Saudi Arabia, 72 hours after return from Russia

Uhuru quietly leaves the country, 72 hours after return from Russia

Tony Mukere

October 29, 2019 11:12 AM

Uhuru recently banned CSs from foreign trips over poor funds

President Uhuru Kenyatta quietly leaves the country for Saudi Arabia, 72 hours after return from Russia

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday evening left the country, less than 72 hours after returning from a five-day visit to Russia and Japan.

President Kenyatta left Nairobi at around 4pm without the fanfare that would usually accompany such travel.

The President’s aides indicated that the head of state traveled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for bilateral talks.

Kenyatta’s visit came barely three days after he landed in Nairobi for a five-day visit that saw him visit Japan and Russia.

The President traveled to Japan for the inauguration of the new Japanese emperor Naruhito.

He later flew to the Russian city of Sochi, where President Vladimir Putin hosted African Heads of State for a summit.

The trip has generated controversy over the cost of the hiring of a luxurious private jet which President Kenyatta used during the five-day global tour.

The plane is reported to be leased at a cost of Sh1.5 million per hour even though State House declined the total amount spent for the 5 days it was leased by the Kenyan government.

The expensive travel is coming at a time when government departments have been hit with memos demanding cost-cutting over the country’s growing fiscal crisis.

A recent memo from Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua banned Cabinet Secretaries from foreign travel as part of the cost-cutting measures.

The Judiciary has also come out to protest what it termed as irregular and illegal budget cuts by the National Treasury.

Tony Mukere