Ruto Arrives in Washington for a 10-Day Tour of the US and UK

Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday evening arrived in Washington to begin his 10-day tour of the US and the UK.

Ruto landed at 4:00 pm US time, flanked by a 30-man delegation that includes ANC leader Musalia Midavadi and Governors Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga), Josphat Nanok (Turkana), and Salim Mvurya (Kwale).

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 team was received by, among others, Kenya’s Ambassador to the US Lazarus Amayo.

Ruto’s tour to the US and UK follows invites from senior government officials and top policy institutes in Washington and London, according to his presidential campaign secretariat.

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.

He will the head to London where he 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). Ruto 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.