President William Ruto was handed a very important person (VIP) status in London while on a visit for King Charles III’s coronation in the United Kingdom (UK) on May 6, 2023.
He was seen riding in a convoy of top-of-the-range cars including two escorts and top security.
In videos seen by Nairobi News, President Ruto who was accompanied by First Lady Rachel, was received by Manoah Esipisu who is the Kenyan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and a host of other Kenyans.
Earlier: President Ruto’s arrival, reception in London, UK. #Coronation #KingCharles pic.twitter.com/ZjogEzXEAr
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) May 6, 2023
Besides attending the coronation, President Ruto also held talks with various leaders and stakeholders during his visit.
Kenya is cultivating a vibrant, predictable and stable institutional framework with irresistible incentives and guarantees that will stimulate the flow of foreign investments into the country. pic.twitter.com/dnQum4XV14
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) May 6, 2023
The VIP treatment was a vast improvement compared to his earlier visit when he graced the funeral ceremony of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September of 2022.
Then, President Ruto and the First Lady were pictured seated at the back of the bus alongside other African presidents including Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu.
It emerged the British government had issued a directive asking presidents attending the Queen’s funeral to arrive by coach instead of taking their own transport.
But some world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, were allowed to visit using private vehicles. Specifically, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden travelled in the armor-plated Cadillac commonly referred to as the ‘Beast.’
President Ruto later termed the treatment unfair.
Speaking recently at the Mo Ibrahim Governance Weekend at the Kenya International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Ruto expressed his displeasure about the treatment of African Heads by the West.
“We have these meetings, Africa-US, Africa-Europe, Africa-Turkey, now we are waiting for Africa-Russia and Africa-Japan. We have made the decision that it is not intelligent for 54 of us to go and sit before one gentleman from another place… Sometimes we are mistreated, we are loaded into busses like school children and it is not right,” he said.
