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While it is standard for heads of state and other high-ranking officials to travel by private plane, too frequent or improper use can also generate significant controversy.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle once received significant criticism for taking their private jet to go from California to London for a Royal Family celebration. In the U.S., the Internal Revenue Service earlier this year announced that it would increase its audits of politicians and business executives who take corporate or taxpayer-funded private planes for personal travel.
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Over in Kenya, President William Ruto has found himself in the middle of an escalating scandal over taking a Boeing Business Jet 737 (BA) to attend his state visit to Atlanta and Washington, D.C where he met with U.S. President Joseph Biden. Many members of the press and political adversaries took aim at the fact that this mode of transportation cost Kenyan taxpayers roughly $1.5 million USD — a number, Ruto said in his response, that would have been even higher if he had chosen to fly with the country’s flagship carrier Kenya Airways.
President calls himself ‘responsible steward of public resources’ (for flying private)
“Fellow Kenyans, I have noted concerns about my mode of transport to the USA,” Ruto wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “As a responsible steward of public resources and in keeping with my determination for us to live within our means and that I should lead from the front in so doing, the cost was less than traveling on KQ.”
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The absurdity and grandiosity of the claim further fueled the criticism against Ruto. He did not respond to repeated questions about what a Kenya Airways flight would cost or explain why he thought it would be more expensive. The airline’s website shows that even during peak seasonal demand in August a return trip from Nairobi to Atlanta costs 265,560 Kenyan Shilling (just over $2,035 USD) for economy and around $7,000 USD for business class.
Kenya Airways has also not commented on whether it offers charter flights that would make it possible for the president to travel and how much such a service would theoretically cost.
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A missed chance to market Kenya Airways, opposition argues
While his inexplicable opinions on flying costs overshadowed the visit itself, Ruto’s state visit took only three days and achieved a number of important goals. It was the first official visit for an African leader in 15 years and secured several billions of dollars in green energy, education and health manufacturing investments for Kenya.
But opposition did not miss a chance to argue that Ruto had the opportunity to both bring down the costs of his visit to taxpayers and market Kenya Airways. In the last three years, the country’s flagship carrier has launched several campaigns to reach the tourists that Kenya has been trying to regain since the pandemic.
“The President is not just a symbol of our national unity but also the number one symbol of our economic diplomacy, who should market the country, including our national carrier,” opposition leader Eugene Wamalwa told the local press.
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