Revealed: Ruto, Uhuru bad blood worsens as retired president denied funds

After handing over power to newly elected President William Ruto on September 13, 2022, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta retreated to his residence on Nairobi’s Dennis Pritt Road next to State House where a cold reception to life in retirement awaited him.

He had hoped for a quiet retirement at this imposing address, popularly known as Caledonia House which had been under construction towards the final days of his 10-year presidency to host his diplomacy missions, particularly his peacekeeping role in East Africa.

This residence has been transformed into a fortress with a high-security perimeter wall mounted with closed circuit television cameras and the entrance is secured with an automated steely black sliding gate manned by General Service Unit officers.

The magnificent gate opens into a vast compound with well-manicured hilly lawns, with outdoor lamps, the cabro-paved driveways leading up to the storeyed building with fine finishes that serves as the office of the third retired president, at least in Mr Kenyatta’s view.

But a dramatic incident here soon after the 2022 transition shattered the calm atmosphere and was a rude jolt to his life out of power— a development that also pointedly set the tone for the frosty relationship that persists between him and his successor.

Officials of the new administration, including officers from the elite presidential escort, which had provided him round-the-clock security for the 10 years he was the Commander-in-Chief, stormed the residence.

Their mission. To seize four high-end State vehicles that the former president had left with from State House.

And those who witnessed the fracas— there is a retinue of staff at the facility including cleaners, gardeners and administrators — describe the drama as the four vehicles were driven out of the compound.

While lately there has not been much in the public about the two friends-turned-foe, it has since emerged that their bitter relationship has grown worse, with the office of the retired president crippled with budget freezes that Mr Kenyatta’s staff attributed to the politics of retribution.

The Sunday Nation has established that for the last 20 months, despite parliamentary approval over two financial years of more than Sh1billion, the office has been without funding, with the former president forced to finance its operations, including his foreign and local travel.

Multiple interviews and documents seen by the Sunday Nation reveal that so bad is the situation that Mr Kenyatta is forced to pay aides, including State-assigned bodyguards, accompanying him during local and foreign trips because requests to government for facilitation are consistently ignored.

The former president usually travels with a delegation of at least 14 — including security officers, a medic, press team and accountant.

Mr Kenyatta had to dig deep into his pockets twice last year during official trips to Nigeria and Ghana.

The former president’s Chief of Staff Kinuthia Mbugua had submitted a request to State House— which holds the budget of the retired president — last May to facilitate air tickets, daily subsistence allowance and a temporary imprest of $14, 200 (Sh1.9m) to enable Mr Kenyatta travel to Nigeria as a guest speaker at the inauguration of Mr Bola Tinubu as President.

Outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari had sent Mr Kenyatta the invitation to deliver the inauguration lecture on May 27 and attend subsequent ceremonies.

But State House reportedly never facilitated the travel. A similar request for facilitation including $13, 500 (Sh1.8m) temporary imprest for Mr Kenyatta and his entourage’s travel to Ghana in May for an African Leadership Forum was similarly ignored by the government.

Sunday Nation learnt that it’s on the backdrop of such ignored requests that Mr Kenyatta in January this year, flew to Kinshasa aboard a Uganda Airlines aircraft for the inauguration of Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi.

It emerged that Ugandan President Museveni’s intervention was instrumental to airlift Mr Kenyatta and his delegation.

The plane carrying Uganda Vice President Jessica Alupo flew to Nairobi to pick up Mr Kenyatta. Social media photos of Mr Kenyatta disembarking from the Uganda Airlines flight on January 19 in Kinshasa sparked controversy.

During the inauguration ceremony at Kinshasa’s Martyr’s Stadium, Mr Kenyatta sat behind President Ruto.

“State House has declined to honour any of our requisitions pertaining to air tickets, daily subsistence allowance and even temporal imprest for delegation accompanying his excellency the third retired president,” Mr Mbugua writes in a brief titled ‘office performance update.’

As a pointer to the broken down relationship with State House, the brief to the retired president by Mr Mbugua, who is also the officer with authority to incur expenditure, lists the numerous requests that had been rejected.

In the letter dated February 22, this year, Mr Mbugua tells Mr Kenyatta that whereas section 9 of the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act provides for provision and accounting of the expenses for the administration of the benefits of the retired president, “the funds have been withheld.”

Mr Mbugua also writes that State House has “declined to…