Details of President William Ruto's Trip to US

President William Ruto is slated for a trip to the United States since Donald Trump's return to the White House. 

He revealed it on Saturday, August 16, at the Sagana State Lodge in Nyeri County, where he graced the 97th Kenya Music Festival State Concert.

Ruto said he would be attending the 90th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He vowed to leverage the sidelines of the general assembly to meet with the big tech companies to negotiate viable deals for the Kenyan content creators.

First on Ruto's to-do list will be to meet with the representatives of the Meta-owned Facebook.

He said he would seek to negotiate with the company to integrate M-Pesa into the platform's money trail to make it easy for Kenyans monetising their content to process their payouts.

"Next month, during my visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, I will meet leaders of major global technology companies to expand collaboration for the benefit of our creators. This includes integrating M-PESA into Facebook’s payment system to make payouts faster, easier, and more accessible," he said.

Ruto also revealed his intention to meet with the Google representatives for the same purpose.

"I will also ask Google to enable Kenyans to purchase adverts via M-PESA - a change that will benefit both creatives and MSMEs selling their products online, creating a win-win situation for Kenya and for YouTube, which will enjoy more transactions on its platform," he added.

Further, Ruto would work with the organisers of the Grammy Awards to push for the setting of a recording studio in Nairobi and prepare Kenya for one of the label's high-level events.

"I will meet with the Recording Academy, organisers of the Grammy Awards, to fast-track plans for establishing world-class studios here in Kenya and to set in motion the journey towards eventually hosting an African edition of the Grammys in Nairobi," he added.

This would be Ruto's first visit to the United States after President Donald Trump returned to the White House in Washington, D.C.

He was last there in September 2024 when he attended the 79th United Nations General Assembly.

Meanwhile, his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, who has been in the US for over a month, is expected in the country on August 21.

Gachagua departed Nairobi for the US on July 9 and was meant to remain abroad for over two months, advancing his political agenda to the Kenyan diasporians.

He, however, cut short his trip, his party explaining that he was returning to organise his side for the November 27 by-elections.

DCP is set to field candidates in the upcoming minipolls.

Twenty-four elective posts will be up for the contestation; six constituencies, 17 wards, and one county's senatorial post.