Kenya’s President William Ruto has come in for widespread criticism after saying the private jet he used to fly to the US last week was cheaper than using the national airline.

He did not, however, say how much the jet had cost, or how much it would have cost on Kenya Airways.

“The facts that are out in the public do not seem to bear him out,” political analyst Prof Herman Manyora told the BBC.

Senior opposition figure Eugene Wamalwa told local media that the president’s remarks were “unpatriotic”.

He said the president should instead have used the opportunity to market Kenya Airways.

Mr Ruto went to the US on a three-day official state visit – the first such trip by an African leader in more than 15 years.

While he was there, Kenya secured a number of investment deals worth billions of dollars.

The country was also designated by the US as a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) ally, cementing its position as one of the US’s closest security partners in Africa.

Source:BBC