Ruto office seeks to calm storm over trip
Deputy President William Ruto’s chartered jet is marketed as one of the finest executive planes in its class.
What you need to know:
- Documents seen by the Nation show the Deputy President was accompanied on the trip to Gabon, Congo, Nigeria and Algeria by 14 people who included MPs Josephine Lesuuda, Alice Ng’ang’a and Yusuf Chanzu.
Deputy President William Ruto Monday battled to clear the air on the hiring of a luxury jet said to cost taxpayers Sh25 million every three months.
A statement from Mr Ruto’s office said quotations were sought from three chartered aircraft service providers.
The statement said E-ADC African Development Corporation, a local partner of VistaJet East Africa, quoted Sh18,564,000 ($221,000) all inclusive, LadyLori Kenya Ltd wanted Sh19,728,744 ($234,866) excluding VAT and fees while ABM Aviation demanded Sh19,213,670 ($231,490) excluding VAT and fees.
“A comparative quotation by a local travel agent indicated that the cost of the trip using commercial flights would be Sh21,060,270 ($247,767) and would take six days,” the statement said. It said the organisers recommended that the service be provided by the lowest bidder, E-ADC.
“The aircraft provided by the company had better security and safety features, providing value at the lowest cost,” the statement added.
Mr Ruto’s office also clarified that the plane did not have a bed, a meeting room, shower or a kitchen other than the cabin crew facility.
Documents seen by the Nation show the Deputy President was accompanied on the trip to Gabon, Congo, Nigeria and Algeria by 14 people who included MPs Josephine Lesuuda, Alice Ng’ang’a and Yusuf Chanzu.
Others were Marianne Lang’att, Richard Lemoshira, Nelson Adeya, Daniel Onyancha, James Mungai, Winston Adeli, Daniel Mutai, Farauk Kibet, John Kemboi, Nicholas Kilisio and Elijah Ronoh.
On Monday, Information PS Bitange Ndemo said the cost of hiring the jet was Sh18.5 million. He said the plane was hired on a one-off basis and the cost was less than the Sh19 million quoted by local firms.
Yesterday, an invoice from the Deputy President’s office indicated that the plane was hired for $221,000 or Sh18.5 million.
However, the Nation has an invoice from VistaJet for $300,000 (Sh25 million). The invoice indicates that the payment was an instalment for the first quarter of the year.
A statement from Africa Development Corporation also said the invoice sent to the office of the Deputy President was for $221,000.
“We are not aware of any other invoice of a higher amount,” the statement said. It denied having a $1.2 million contract with the office of the Deputy President.
