President Uhuru Kenyatta's Chief of Staff, Nzioka Waita, on Wednesday, October 30, came out to quell the fire lit by Kenyans while harshly criticising the president over frequent foreign trips.
The president had been put on the spot by netizens who were quick to note that he has travelled out of the country almost the same number of times since being sworn in for the second term as former President Mwai Kibaki did in his 10-year rule.
Waita took to Twitter to inform the public that foreign travel was in the job description of the president.
"One of President Kenyatta’s duties as Head of State is to position Kenya as a force for good and a thought leader in the community of nations,
"He has discharged this duty extremely effectively. Foreign travel to advance Kenya’s agenda and sphere of influence is simply part of the job," Waita tweeted.
A citizen only identified as Ndung'u Wainaina, argued that that the head of state had visited 86 cities in his first term and made 31 foreign trips since he was sworn in for his second term.
In comparison, he stated that the retired President Mwai Kibaki had only made 33 foreign trips during his entire tenure.
The Standard on August 18, reported that the president had crossed the 100-trip mark when he visited the tropical islands of Barbados, also making a reference to the number of trips by his predecessor.
Sports Journalist Saddique Shaban joked that the president's passport needed to be confiscated and his jet grounded to stop him from flying out again.
Others sarcastically stated that the president needed to receive a ' Most Travelling Head of State' award.
