Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Sunday challenged President William Ruto to give clarity on several matters following his State trip to the United States.
Key among Kalonzo’s demands was Kenya’s security status following its designation as a major non-NATO ally.
Kalonzo poked holes into Washington's decision to confer the status to Kenya expressing fears that such an agreement would expose Kenya to heightened security threats.
“As a country, we are still paying the heavy price of the August 7, 1998, US Embassy bombings where 213 Kenyans lost their lives. Given our geographical location, Kenyans need to know the security implications of being designated a non-NATO ally,” Kalonzo quipped.
United States President Joe Biden pledged to designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally on Thursday, making Kenya the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to hold the title.
A major non-NATO ally (MNNA) refers to a country that is not part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), yet has a deep strategic and security partnership with the US.
Further, Kalonzo questioned why the Head of State decided to charter a private jet for the US trip from a company based in the UAE instead of relying on a commercial flight.
Kalonzo claimed that President Ruto's decision cost the Kenyan taxpayers Ksh200 million.
This came after the President’s statement on Sunday where he defended the decision to charter the private plane insisting it was more economical than the other suggested options.
"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 travelling on the national airline,” Ruto stated.
Kalonzo also demanded to know why President Ruto had moved forward with the plan to deploy 1,000 police officers to Haiti despite a judgement by the High Court which deemed the plan illegal and unconstitutional.
He further termed the deployment as contempt of court orders.
Finally, Kalonzo cited that failure to question the President would equate to failing Kenyans
