Rigathi Gachagua to Fly to China on Another Foreign Trip as Ruto Seems to Reduce Tours

• Top on Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s itinerary is his upcoming working tour of China this month
• Gachagua met with Beijing’s ambassador to Kenya, Zhou Pingjian, on Tuesday ahead of the visit
• This foreign trip would be the deputy president’s second one in quick succession without his boss having to leave the country; Gachagua was recently in South Africa

Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi: Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is set to fly to Beijing on a working visit.

He revealed this on Tuesday while meeting China’s ambassador to Kenya, Zhou Pingjian.

Why is Gachagua headed to China?

While he did not provide much detail about his upcoming trip, Gachagua said he would be marketing Kenya’s agricultural products.

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“I will be pitching for our agroproduce, moreso coffee, tea and avocado. We discussed cross-cutting priority areas of common interest between the two Nations, including enhancing Trade and Investment,” he said.

This would be Gachagua’s second foreign trip in 2024.

In June, he was in South Africa to represent President William Ruto at the inauguration of President Cyril Ramaphosa following his re-election in May.

Gachagua’s trip to Pretoria came at a time when Ruto was seen to have toned down on his foreign travel.

Ruto has not travelled in a while, some Kenyans observed.

Ruto’s foreign trips

He has been under scrutiny for excessive foreign trips.

Ruto was in Europe for two summits in early June.

On June 13, State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed stated the head of state would attend the G7 Summit in Italy.

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After Italy, Ruto would head to Switzerland for the inaugural summit on peace in Ukraine.

Earlier, the president was in South Korea for bilateral engagements with the government in Seoul, this being on the sidelines of the Korea-Africa Summit.

In May, Ruto was in the United States of America (USA) for a state visit at the invitation of President Joe Biden.

The historic trip raised eyebrows, with Kenyans questioning the extent of the costs the taxpayer shouldered for the trip to succeed.

Ruto chartered a jet reportedly costing in the neighbourhood of KSh 200 million.

He however clarified the trip was funded by people he called friends.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.

Source: TUKO.co.ke