President Uhuru Kenyatta quietly jetted back into the country following his successful Saudi Arabian trip.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena confirmed that the president jetted back on Wednesday, October 30, at around 9 p.m.
He was received by a few top security officials when he touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The communications team led by Dena, however, downplayed the president's arrival by keeping it under wraps by not tweeting about it.
It appears that the media learnt of the president's arrival nearly 24 hours after he touched down.
Kenyans have, in the past, sharply criticised what they often described as the president's penchant for foreign travel with some comically declaring that he was turning into a guest in his own country.
In the two years that he has been in office, a Citizen TV report revealed that he had made 31 foreign trips believed to have gobbled up a lot of money even as the economy forces the state to slash some of the key arms of govt's budgets.
The plane that Uhuru used to travel to Japan and Tokyo between Sunday, October 20 and Friday, October 25, reportedly costs Ksh1.5 million for an hour or Ksh36 million a day to hire.
The Airbus 318 Elite is likely owned by Dubai-based aviation company Constellation.
"The President has flown to over 30 countries in 14 months. He is currently in Saudi Arabia from where is expected to proceed to Botswana...all While the National Treasury implements budget cuts," one Twitter user expressed their disappointed.
"Not making any sense. President Kibaki made 33 international trips in his entire 10yr reign and economy was doing good. President Uhuru have had 31 foreign trips within 20 months alone and our economy is dwindling, companies are closing shops and Kenyans are laid off en masse," argued another.
His Saudi Arabia trip bore fruits nonetheless since the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) agreed to invest in Kenya’s Big Four projects with a special focus paid on housing.
