Deputy President William Ruto had also been barred from travelling to Tanzania before he settled on the aborted trip to Uganda on Monday, Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi has disclosed.
Mr Sudi, an outspoken ally of the DP who was part of his delegation, said on Wednesday the planned Tanzania trip was cancelled the same day at around 11am.
Besides Mr Sudi, the others were businessman David Lagat, Turkish investor Harun Aydin, businessman David Muge, Simon Mogun and Nelson Kisalit.
Addressing the press at his Kapseret home, Mr Sudi claimed that when they sought clearance from Tanzanian authorities, they were instructed to first clear their travel plans with State House in Nairobi.
“We were supposed to go to Uganda from Tanzania but when we reached out to Tanzanian authorities, they said we were supposed to call State House before travelling,” he said.
“This is when we decided to proceed to Uganda, where DP was blocked from flying.”
He added that they were supposed to have a brief meeting on Monday in Tanzania before proceeding to Uganda in the afternoon the same day.
On the agenda of the trips, Ms Sudi said the delegation had business interests in modern fruit farming and that the group included investors.
The recent aborted trips, he said, came after one to Zanzibar that was also business-oriented.
Ruto ally: DP was also barred from flying to Tanzania
“We are doing modern fruit farming and we would love our people to have alternatives apart from maize farming. In the next six months, people will see what we have been doing, more so in Eldoret, where there are four farms dealing in avocado among others,” he said.
Mr Sudi added: “I have travelled to Turkey to meet Mr Aydin and I can tell you that he is a serious investor when it comes to fruit farming and that is why we are visiting these countries with him. We have also been to Zanzibar and Congo just for this investment.”
In an interview with Inooro FM on Wednesday morning, DP Ruto disclosed that Mr Aydin has major investments in Kenya, adding that he is also eyeing business opportunities in Tanzania and Rwanda, among other countries.
“Mr Aydin is looking for more opportunities in the East Africa Community (EAC). At the moment, he has investments in Kenya. He is also eyeing Uganda and Tanzania, among other countries in the region. All these are geared towards value addition,” said DP Ruto.
Mr Sudi, who proceeded to Uganda on Monday after the DP was blocked, said they visited farms and met President Yoweri Museveni’s political advisers for what they described as “political lessons” from the National Resistance Movement (NRM), which has ruled Uganda for more than 35 years.
“Yes, we achieved what we went to do in Uganda with the investors who accompanied us. We also met Museveni’s handlers and this is not the first time, even last month when we were there we met,” he said.
“Our conversation revolved on how to build our United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to be strong and not be like Jubilee Party, which we disbanded to build then now it belongs to Raphael Tuju and David Murathe alone.”
He accused Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i of giving orders to Immigration officials to frustrate the DP at the airport on Monday.
The DP was to use a Cessna 560XL with registration number 5Y WHB, a flight manifest from Phoenix Aviation showed. The crew was ready for the flight but they were told at the last minute that their VVIP guest would not be flying.
Dr Ruto had revealed that whenever he travelled outside Kenya on a public or private mission, he never had to seek clearance from his boss.
‘I have been the Deputy President for nine years and I have travelled to many countries for both public and private missions,” he said in the radio interview.
“At no point have I ever been asked that I need clearance from anywhere. So, which kind of law is this which has started operating now?”
He went ahead: “I have travelled to Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo for government duties and private, I have never been asked by anyone that I need clearance from anywhere.
“This clearance which began on Monday, where is it coming from? It is only a plot of making me exchange words with the schemers but I have no time to waste. I leave everything to God, God will deal with them.”
As a holder of a diplomatic passport issued to him in his capacity as the Deputy President, his office is supposed to inform the State whenever he intends to travel outside Kenya for security and logistical reasons.
