Moving the president: The millions, the people involved whenever Ruto is on the move

But a president was voted by the people and so he cannot seal himself off from the very population that put him inside the house on the hill. He must tour the country and meet his people. It is critical politically and even socially.

As you would expect, whenever the president leaves the comfort and safety of State House, he is followed by a horde of aides, political allies and of course a full army to ensure he is safe.

This is not cheap. No trip is taken at the spur of the moment. He does not wake up and say I want to go to Kilgoris or visit a market in El-Wak, Modogashe or Kotulo. Every trip has been planned well in advance.

The president is accorded a package of amenities to facilitate his travel and the further it is from his State residence, State House, the bigger the package becomes.

A State House insider intimated to Citizen Digital that the package includes an advance security team deployed to the planned area and venue of the visit.

This is usually led by officials from the Interior Ministry and county commissioner’s office to help secure the scheduled places where the president is expected.

They check the routes, the possible stops, and if he will access the area by road or air. If the travel requires air movement, the Kenya Defence Forces provide choppers or fixed-wing aircraft.

“The Interior Ministry coordinates the event venues and set up and protocol together with the organising entity. There is a liaison team from State House that also double-checks the protocol based on who they want to have in proximity to the principal. Any official movement involves at least 100+ personnel from the different entities,” he said.

This means the president travels with his catering team everywhere even for a day trip. They understand his taste, how much salt, if any, he likes on food and maybe even his favourite plate and cup.

Security of course is critical and he always has tens of security men and women with him wherever he goes. Add his logistics and communications team and the president always has, at minimum, over 150 people who follow his every move.

“There will be a full motorcade and close protection officers deployed at all venues where the principal will visit,” the State House insider added.

“In all instances, there are overnight or out-of-town allowances given to officers to cover their meals and accommodation.”

The insider revealed that if President Ruto visits a place like Kiambu County, which is practically next door for a few hours, that trip can cost, at minimum, over Ksh.2 million.

Our insider says the amount is heavily conservative and looks at fuelling the presidential motorcade of 25 cars and lunch allowance for his team of 150. He says there is another amount for mobilization that cannot be estimated because it depends on many factors and runs in the millions.

Considering the average cost fuelling a high-end 4-x-4 car is Ksh.15,000, means over Ksh.300,000 will be used in fuel alone for the trip.

The insider added that if President Ruto will need to take a chopper, an additional cost of $2,000 (Ksh.258,000) per hour will also be budgeted.

So if Ruto spends roughly five hours in Kiambu he will spend Ksh.1.29 million on a chopper (1 USD = Ksh.129). 

“In the north, you factor in additional paramilitary deployment for security and evacuation,” the insider added.

The tour easily spilled into the 15 million bracket considering he stayed with a chopper for over 72 hours. His assistance team also secured accommodation and allowances for the same period.

He added that in every instance where the President is visiting an area, a rigorous planning process is undertaken to ensure that an emergency evacuation is secured in case of an attack against the Head of State.

“The County Commissioner is supposed to chair that planning committee to look at what happens in the event of a medivac (medical evacuation) so it’s usually planned but not always available in the locality that is being visited,” he added.

This amount changes during the President’s international visits considering a more intricate planning process is involved.