Revealed: How Ruto is splashing millions on US lobbyists to save face with Washington

President William Ruto.[PCSU] In a move that reeks of extravagance and desperation, President William Ruto's administration has quietly signed away more than Sh325 million of taxpayers' money to a US lobbying firm at a time when millions of Kenyans are struggling to put food on the table. The controversial deal with Continental Strategy LLC, a Washington outfit owned by Donald Trump's close ally and former ambassador Carlos Trujillo, is designed to airbrush Nairobi's battered image in Washington. Confidential documents reveal that Kenya will pay $175,000 (Sh27.1 million) every month, separate from the cost of hotels, flights, chauffeurs, meals, and conference fees, for lobbyists in what critics say is an attempt to whitewash blood on the streets from Ruto's crackdown on protests and to soften international uproar over Kenya hosting Sudan's notorious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia leaders, among a string of blunders. The contract is signed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as file number 7545 on August 6 by Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei, with its physical postal address labelled as State House, Nairobi. Tucked in the agreement is a silent clause that keeps it alive indefinitely, rolling over month by month unless either party issues a 30-day termination notice. "We know the inner workings of the White House, Capitol Hill, and how to navigate federal government agencies to advocate on issues successfully. We have extensive knowledge of agencies such as the US Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, and Department of Treasury-we are able to navigate the D.C. landscape through our relationships and policy expertise," the company says on its website. In effect, Kenya has locked itself into a potentially open-ended financial drain, with taxpayers as the underwriters. The fine print spells out the firm's mandate; to lobby US policymakers through preparing and disseminating informational materials in a bid to shore up Ruto's credibility on Capitol Hill even as his record is questioned back home. When contacted, the Office of the Controller of Budget, which is constitutionally mandated to authorise all withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund and ensure that public spending is lawful and transparent, could not respond by the time of going to press. "Any project that uses public money must be approved by the people's representatives, and at least the CoB should know. Anything less is a total breach, and the CEO, who is the President, must then explain to Kenyans. Somebody must audit this at the end of the day," asserts Dr Kenneth Ombongi. Trujillo, a Miami lawyer seems to straddle two worlds, Trump's inner circle and his own lucrative lobbying venture. He is a former Florida state legislator and Trump's ambassador to the Organisation of American States between 2018 and 2021. Even after leaving office, he appears to have remained firmly in Trump's orbit, serving as a delegate at Republican conventions and as a trusted Latino outreach strategist for Trump's campaigns, all while leveraging his access through Continental's high-dollar contracts. In the agreement, Trujillo, however, bluntly warns his clients, the Kenya government: ".....During this engagement, we may express opinions regarding issues for which we are being engaged or various courses of action and the results that might be anticipated. Any such statement is intended to be an expression of opinion only, based on information available to us at the time, and should not be construed as a promise or guarantee. There can be no assurances that our efforts on your behalf will be successful." It is barely a year since Kenya earned the coveted Major Non-Nato Ally designation that allows a country to access advanced US weapons and surplus military hardware, but talk is rife that this could be stripped. When President William Ruto met a US delegation led by US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Dr Jewel Bronaugh at State House, Nairobi in 2022. [PCS] Then status is regarded as one of the highest levels of military partnership that Washington offers to countries outside the formal Nato alliance and comes with a range of strategic, military, and financial benefits that include access to US defense equipment. Kenya is the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve the status. Republican Senator Jim Risch has tabled an amendment to reassess Kenya's standing, citing links to RSF, flirtations with China, Russia, and Iran, and a brutal domestic record that includes abductions, torture, and the killing of about 100 youth linked to Gen Z protests. But a senior US embassy official in Nairobi, who wished to remain unnamed, downplayed the situation. "This is coming from the legislative arm and not the Executive. It shouldn't appear to anyone that this represents the position of the Trump administration. If anything, it's not obvious that the amendments will pass; this is just one among a long list of other amendments." President Ruto is scheduled to travel to the US next month for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, marking his first trip in President Trump's administration. Some observers reckon that instead of walking into the Oval Office with clean hands, Ruto risks being confronted with the Senate's bruising reassessment of Kenya's alliances, rights record, and credibility as a regional stabilizer. But can the million-dollar shuttle diplomacy erase the memory of young Kenyans felled by bullets in Nairobi's streets? Can glossy public relations endeavors hide a president who publicly ordered police to "shoot to kill"? "I doubt," says Hussin Khalid, leading human rights activist affiliated with Vocal Africa. "It's appalling that we have lost so many innocent lives unnecessarily. I don't see how you can undo this. This regime has shown us the worst of the worst," adds Khalid. Some analysts like Dr Ombongi, see a series of diplomatic blunders that are our own making and that cannot be undone in an instant. "There is little that can come out of such ventures. We are going to lose, and I pity the president's advisors. I've heard many people say we have a president who cannot be advised. I venture to say if that's the case, then it's the advisers who don't seem to understand the man they advise. On this one though, I don't see such schemes getting us out of the mud," stated Dr. Ombongi. Top among the range of concerns by the US are Nairobi's links to non-state armed groups and violent extremist organizations, including Sudan's notorious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Al Shabab. Kenya's overtures to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leadership, capped by Nairobi hosting senior figures of the Sudanese militia, have been viewed as a grave diplomatic misstep that might be tough to undo. "Hosting RSF leaders on our soil is offering political legitimacy to one of the region's most brutal armed groups. This behavior starkly contradicts the values of international strategic alliance," observes Khalid. "We have lost it completely," adds Khalid. The RSF stands accused by the United Nations and human rights groups of atrocities, including ethnic cleansing in Darfur, mass killings, and systematic abuses against civilians. Some, however, like Dr Winnie Rugut, a diplomacy and international relations expert, do not see a problem with Kenya's approach. "It is not just Kenya that deploys think tanks to reach out to the U.S. If you look at the nature of their politics, sometimes mainstream political channels do not necessarily and fully work and therefore you might be forced to use lobby firms that have deep networks in the administration," argues Dr Rugut. "Established formal channels may work elsewhere, say China for instance, but the US terrain is somehow different. The political dynamics are a bit different and therefore this might inform why Kenya is opting for this approach," added Dr Rugut. Senator Risch's amendment seeks to further explore whether Kenya serves as a financial safe haven for individuals or entities listed on the U.S. sanctions list or affiliated with foreign terrorist organizations, especially from countries such as South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, and Somalia. When he rose to power in 2022, President Ruto rode a crest of a political wave and quickly emerged as Washington's new favorite in East Africa, some whispering he was the "blue-eyed boy of the US," a nod to the perceived warmth and early trust former President Joe Biden's administration extended his way. And for months after assuming office, Ruto cut the figure of a dependable, reform-leaning ally, but that shine seems to be slowly fading away. On August 6, 2025, at a high-profile private sector roundtable in Nairobi, President Ruto mounted a spirited defense of Kenya's deepening ties with China, brushing aside US threats to revoke the country's coveted Major Non-NATO Ally status. Speaking against the backdrop of congressional unease in Washington, Ruto argued that the partnership with Beijing was not about ideology but survival, pointing to a lopsided trade relationship where Kenya imports goods worth nearly Sh600 billion yet exports a paltry 5 percent. In Senator Risch's proposed amendment, the politician is calling for a full assessment of Kenya's military, political, and financial relationships with China, Russia, and Iran, including a detailed account of any engagements, agreements, or joint activities between Kenya and these countries since the MNNA status was granted.

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