13 helicopters escort President Uhuru Kenyatta, DP William Ruto to Taita Taveta

Some of the helicopters that took President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy and Cabinet secretaries to Taita Taveta, Tuesday. [PHOTO: GIDEON MAUNDU/STANDARD]

The full weight of the Jubilee government was felt in Taita Taveta County yesterday when President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto and Cabinet secretaries arrived aboard 13 helicopters.

Several senior Government officials also flew to the site of a presidential event near Voi in private helicopters.

Each of the Cabinet secretaries arrived in a private helicopter that landed and was neatly parked near Tsavo River.

Some of the helicopters that took President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy and Cabinet secretaries to Taita Taveta, Tuesday. [PHOTO: GIDEON MAUNDU/STANDARD]

They were followed by Ruto, who came in yet another helicopter, while the President and his aides arrived last in two helicopters.

The President and his delegation were on an inspection tour of the ongoing Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project.

The site cleared for the presidential entourage is located in the vast Tsavo West National Park along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.

Among the first to arrive were Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala (Mining), Joseph Nkaissery (Interior), James Macharia (Health), Adan Mohammed (Industrialisation) and Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero.

On his arrival, the Deputy President held a brief closed-door meeting with Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu, Senator Dan Mwazo and Taveta MP Naomi Shaban. He then welcomed President Kenyatta who arrived minutes later in an Air Force helicopter escorted by a similar aircraft.