I'm not a tourist, Ruto says amid travel criticism

President William Ruto has defended his incessant foreign travels, reminding Kenyans that he was the country’s chief diplomat and not a tourist.

The President, while seemingly responding to one of the headlines by The Standard, insisted that his role required sustained diplomatic engagement abroad.

Speaking during a town hall meeting with Kenyans living and working in Scandinavia in Helsinki, Finland, Ruto reiterated that his foreign travels are aimed at advancing Kenya’s diplomatic, trade, and investment interests, arguing that global engagement is central to his administration’s economic transformation agenda.

According to him, maintaining Kenya’s position on the international stage requires consistent high-level engagement with global partners, investors, and diaspora communities.

“I was looking at one of the headlines in the newspaper that William Ruto is travelling again. I wish they knew the kind of schedule that I have. I have not come here as a tourist or to waste time; I have come here to make sure we have achieved certain things. Just for the record, I am the chief diplomat of our country. People want to know what Kenya stands for,” the President said.

However, the president did not address the costs of his foreign trips,a debate that has been under scrutiny following the Controller of Budget (CoB)’s nine-month expenditure report covering July 2025 to March 2026, which flagged continued high spending on foreign travel within the national government.

In the report, State House emerged as one of the top spenders, second only to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with Sh1.3 billion spent on foreign travel and Ksh.69 million on local travel during the period.

The Office of the Deputy President spent Sh76 million on foreign travel and Sh222 million on domestic travel during the same period.

 The President jetted back to the country on Thursday night from a three-nation European tour, during which he made official visits to South Africa, Belgium, Norway, and Finland.

 After spending a day in Kenya, the President is expected to travel to France for the G7 Summit scheduled for June 15-17 in Évian-les-Bains, where leaders will discuss security. Economy and geopolitical challenges.

The Évian summit is expected to bring together leaders from the Group of Seven countries to deliberate on pressing global challenges, including economic recovery, climate action, and sustainable development.

 Before his foreign travels on June 3, the President had only spent 15 days returning to the country from Baku, Azerbaijan and Astana, Kazakhstan where he globe-trotted for World Urban Forum (WUF13) and ‘strengthening diplomatic and economic cooperation’ respectively

The President visited Baku on May 19 to showcase Kenya’s progress in affordable housing and sustainable urban development and later went to Astana in a world tour that left Kenyan taxpayers coughing more on his travel costs.

He visited the two countries as Kenyans went to the streets to agitate against fuel hikes that they claimed was unjustified at the time Kenyans were reeling from the high cost of living.

 Ruto’s air travel costs come with a heavy price. He is known for his costly jets that cost taxpayers at least Sh3.2 million per hour, going by the last jet he used to Baku and Astana, which translates to half a billion for one week that the President was out of the country.

At the heat of Gen-Z protests in 2024, President Ruto pledged austerity measures that included a 50 per cent 50% budget cut on travel and entertainment but the promised remained that since reports from the auditor general revealed that that travel expenditures have frequently remained high or even increased despite the announced austerity directives

In the 2024-2025 Financial year, the government spent Sh5.1 billion on foreign travel during the first nine months of the 2024/25 Financial Year, raising concerns about the effectiveness of austerity measures under Ruto's administration.