President William Ruto, it seems, is following in the footsteps of his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta with regard to traveling out of the country.
In the first 135 days in office, both Heads of State made the same number of foreign trips.
Between September 13, 2022, when he was sworn into office, and January 23, 2023, when he made his most recent trip, President Ruto has made a total of 12 trips; a period of 133 days.
Uhuru Kenyatta on the other hand made 12 trips abroad between April 9, 2013, and August 20, 2013, a period of 134 days.
President Ruto has however made more trips outside Africa than Uhuru did in the same period.
Astonishingly, the late former President Mwai Kibaki made a total of 33 foreign trips during his ten-year tenure between 2003 and 2013.
Below is a list of Uhuru’s and Ruto’s trips.
President Kenyatta’s Foreign Trips
April 27, 2013: Tanzania, Arusha – East African Heads of State Summit
May 3, 2013: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa – 21st Extraordinary IGAD Summit
May 6-8, 2013: United Kingdom, London – Conference on Somalia
May 9-11, 2013: South Africa, Johannesburg – World Economic Forum
May 24, 2013: South Sudan, Juba – State Visit
May 25-26, 2013: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa – African Union 50th Anniversary celebrations
June 24-26, 2013: Uganda, Entebbe – State Visit
July 1, 2013: Burundi, Bujumbura – State Visit
July 14-18, 2013: Nigeria, Abuja – African Union HIV/AIDS Summit
July 18, 2013: DRC, Kinshasa – State Visit
August 4, 2013: Uganda, Munyonyo – AMISOM Summit
August 16-19, 2013: Russia, Moscow – State Visit
President Ruto’s Foreign Trips
September 19-20, 2022: United Kingdom, London – State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
September 20-24, 2022: USA, New York – 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
October 6, 2022: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa – Launch of Safaricom operations in Ethiopia
October 8-9, 2022: Uganda, Kampala – Uganda’s 60th Independence Day celebrations
October 9-10, 2022: Tanzania, Dar es Salaam – State Visit
November 6-8: 2022: Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh – 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference
November 21, 2022: DRC, Kinshasa – State Visit
November 22- 24, 2022: South Korea, Seoul – State Visit
December 9-10, 2022: Eritrea, Asmara – State Visit
December 13-16, 2022: USA, Washington DC – United States–Africa Leaders’ Summit
January 24, 2023: France, Paris – State Visit
January 25-26,2023: Dakar, Senegal – Summit on Food Security in Africa
