The cost of President William Ruto’s flight to United States of America has attracted criticism from opposition accusing him of spending lavishly while asking Kenyans to live within their means.
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DAP-K party leader Eugene Wamalwa slammed Ruto for spending on foreign airlines instead of Kenya Airways (KQ).
Wamalwa said that Ruto is “failing to market Kenya Airways” on international stage arguing that KQ is the “pride of Africa” thus the president’s action is unpatriotic.
“Any president who is a patriot must show pride in going with Kenya Airways and flying the Kenyan flag and marketing it to the world,” Wamalwa said.
The cost of Ruto’s flight to United States is estimated at Ksh200 million, however Ruto defended saying it’s cheaper compared to Kenya Airways flight.
However, Wamalwa faulted Ruto’s claims saying that KQ have direct flights from Nairobi to New York.
In 2018, Kenya Airways launched direct flights from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to New York, a move that was geared at opening East Africa to business opportunities.
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According to Kenya Airways, a direct flight from JKIA to JF. Kenedy International Airport costs between Ksh95,000 and Ksh100,000 on economy class and between Ksh443,000 to Ksh560,000 on Business class.
In his X post, Ruto defended his spending on US trip adding that he is pushing for reduction in travel expenditures in state department in order to channel resources to development.
