President William Ruto was accompanied by part of his family and several esteemed delegates on a 4-day state visit to the United States of America (USA) hosted by Joe Biden.
The Kenyan head of state visit is a monumental occasion in the country’s history. He is the first Kenyan President to be honoured with a state visit since 2003 and also the first African for such a commendation in 16 years.
Despite it being celebratory for so many reasons, President Ruto has left an air of anger and frustration amongst a majority of Kenyans after they found out he hired a Boeing 737-700 private business jet from an Emirati company based in Abu Dhabi.
Reports indicate that the president chose the jet for its capability to fly for between 10 to 12 hours non-stop. The aircraft was leased through Kenyan taxpayers money for an upward of Sh. 200 million ($1.5 million).
Local news reporter KTN clarified that RoyalJet LLC, the United Arab Emirates based company that gave President Ruto a jet, offers charter services for roughly Sh. 2.4 million per hour.
Reportedly, RoyalJet is owned by the richest family in the world, the Al Nahyan family. It commands and operates its fleet of aircraft from Abu Dhabi, Dubai.
As per the Royal Jet Group website, the airline leads the global premium private aviation sector. It is chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan.
He is a distinguished leader in the UAE aviation industry, chairing the Board of Directors of Abu Dhabi Airports. Furthermore, he currently serves as the advisor of Special Affairs at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.
The visionary Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad’s net worth is estimated to be over Sh. 1.3 trillion ($10 billion). The company operates 12 Boeing Business Jets and 3 Bombardier Global 5000/6000 aircraft.
Ruto’s hired Boeing 737-700 business jet to US Kenyans will pay over Sh. 200mn for!
It offers aircraft management, aircraft charter, aircraft leasing, medical evacuation flights, aircraft brokerage, flight support services, FBO services, aircraft maintenance, repair, CAMO services, aircraft acquisition and disposal services, and VIP aviation consulting.
The Al Nahyan Royal family has accumulated incredible wealth over the years, estimated to be over Sh 40.5 trillion ($305 billion), as per the latest Bloomberg wealth rankings in 2023.
Through its spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, the Kenyan government defended the cost of hiring the private aircraft.
They noted that the outcome of the visit would be far-reaching economically compared to the Sh. 200 million spent leasing the private business jet.
“The benefits from this visit far outweigh such a million times. Just to be clear, the United States of America did not pay for President Ruto’s jet to the US,” said Mwaura.
The US government distanced itself from claims that they had sponsored the chartered flight carrying President William Ruto’s entourage.
“Just to be clear, the United States of America did not pay for President Ruto’s jet to the US,” an official representative of the US government told of pro-UDA propagandists.