The flying president: Ruto leaves tonight for S. Korea

President William Ruto. [File, Standard]

President William Ruto says he will be departing for a second trip to South Korea on Sunday, June 2 evening.

This comes a week after jetting back to the country from a four-day state visit to the United States of America, a trip that was highly criticized on social media majorly for the expenses incurred.

The president made the revelation of his latest trip during a church service at Amutala Stadium in Kimilili, Bungoma County.

In his address, Ruto sought permission from the congregants, explaining his trip was not for recreational purposes but to follow up and finalize previous agreements with President Yoon Suk Yeol.

“I promised to stay here [in Bungoma] up to Monday if you treat me well and thank you so much Bungoma people for taking good care of me so far. However, this evening I will be leaving for Korea not for recreation or fun activities, but for purposes of bringing development to you,” Ruto says in a charming voice to his audience.

Two months after his inauguration as president, Ruto made an international visit to South Korea.

“I have been to Korea before, and this time, I am going to sign deals with the Korean Government on some of the agreements we had. For instance, we agreed on the creation of employment for the youth, and now I am going to sign a pact that will see thousands of youth move to work in Korea so they can bring dollars to build our economy. Have you released me to go? You know I had to explain it to you so that you release me,” he adds.

The president has been touring the Western Region for the better part of last week, launching projects and finally leading the country in celebrating Madaraka Day at Masinde Muliro Stadium .

On Sunday, the president gave additional goodies to the region, where he pledged to put up a gold refinery worth Sh5.3 billion in Kakamega, Sh2.8 billion granite factory in Vihiga, renovate Kimilili Girls Secondary School and even donated millions to Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka for small scale traders.

In what seems like a contradiction of his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua’s statement earlier on, Ruto asked MPs to move around the country to understand their roles of oversight and legislation.

This comes as speculations of a possible rift in the presidency continue to grow, with DP Gachagua visibly absent from the church service in Bungoma, a day after marking the national holiday.

However, other top leaders in the Kenya Kwanza Coalition like Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula were present.

The DP was at a church service in Meru County alongside a section of leaders from the Mount Kenya Region.