Mudavadi, Three Governors Among a 30-Man Delegation Accompanying Ruto to the US and UK

Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday morning left the country for a 10-day tour of the US and the UK.

Ruto, who is eyeing the presidency, is being accompanied by 30 persons including his wife Rael Ruto, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi, and Governors Ann Waiguru (Kirinyaga), Salim Mvurya (Kwale), and Josphat Nanok (Turkana), according to a letter sent to the Foreign Affairs Ministry by the Office of the Deputy President.

Also in the trip are Senators Susan Kihika (Nakuru), Kipchumba Murkomen (Elgeyo-Marakwet), and Augustine Cheruiyot (Kericho), as well as MPs Soypan Tuya, Owen Baya, Beatrice Adagala, Alice Wahome, Kimani Ichungwa, and Aden Duale.

The rest are aides and support staff from the Office of the Deputy President including Korir Sing’oei (legal advisor), David Mugonyi (communication secretary), Eric Ng’eno (speechwriter), William Oloonkishu Yampoi (head of security), and Hellen Chepkurgat Samoei (private secretary).

Ruto's presidential campaign secretariat said the deputy president was honoring invites from senior government officials and top policy institutes in Washington and London.

He is scheduled to participate in a conversation on foreign policy, the future of governance, and economic development in Kenya, East Africa, and the African continent.

In the US, Ruto will speak at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and at the University of Arizona's Washington Entrepreneurship Hub.

He is also expected to meet officials of the State Department and the Pentagon as well as the US Government National Security Council (NSC) Advisor.

In London, Ruto will meet senior UK government officials, visit the National Counter-Terrorism Center and speak at both the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). He will also pay a courtesy call on the Archbishop of Canterbury, His Grace Justin Welby.

Ruto, who is seeking to succeed President Kenyatta this year, will also hold meetings with Kenyans in the US and the UK to drum up support for his presidential bid.