Ruto regains wings to fly with Rwandan trip to Kagame inauguration

He would have been on his 66th trip out of the country, if he kept his average of three foreign thrips per month, since taking over the reins of leadership in September 2022.

President William Ruto has made 62 visits to 38 countries in his first 20 months in office.

But the Gen Z-led anti-government protests which began on June 18th have kept the globe-trotting president grounded for 57 days now.

President Ruto seems to have gotten his wings to fly again, as he tasted the runway again Sunday, when he flew to Kigali, Rwanda, to attend President Paul Kagame’s inauguration to his fourth term in office.

A statement posted on X by State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohammed said Ruto had been invited to the event, noting that under President Kagame, Kenya-Rwanda relations have blossomed, with commercial and people-to-people ties further consolidating for the mutual benefit of both countries and the region.

Ruto who was among 23 other heads of state and government who graced the event held at Amahoro stadium, was seen interacting with other presidents at the event, most of whom he had only talked to on the phone or virtually. 

Prior to this trip, the head of state is said to have skipped several other global engagements, including the sixth mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union (AU) in Accra, Ghana.

Ruto who was appointed as the AU champion for institutional reform, was poised to attend the event which was taking stock of the progress in AU mid-year.

Sources also say the President missed a trip to the US and another to Europe during the period of demos.

“You can’t go away when your house is on fire, but the President can also not go to all the events he has been invited to…he shouldn’t,” says political analyst Herman Manyora.

During the lull period, the President has resorted to engaging ambassadors, high commissioners and other members of the diplomatic corps at State House Nairobi, making calls as a way to engage the host countries, a move political analysts say will serve the purpose and actualize austerity measures.

“We know there are those events that he can’t miss, but the world has become a global village. you can make calls, teleconferencing and still have the point home,” adds Manyora.

Ruto has travelled every single month since he assumed office in September 2022. Even with a lot of criticism, he said, the benefits outweigh the cost.

Kagame who has been president since 2000, and de facto leader of Rwanda from 1994 to 2000, was sworn in for yet another term, having been at the helm of leadership for about three decades now.