President's high-profile US visit: Strategic gains and controversy

Audio By Vocalize

First, there were the comical photos of President William Ruto staring up at the gigantic Shaquille O'Neal who, standing at 2.16 metres, is a colossus that dwarfed everyone in the room. Then the criticism when it was discovered that the Dubai's Royal Jet he chartered cost $18,000 an hour.

When he started his 4-day state visit to The United States, Dr Ruto broke Kenya's 20-year hiatus, following in the footsteps of the late president Mwai Kibaki who, in October 2003, was invited to visit America's 43rd President, George W Bush. Dr Ruto is also Africa's first president in over 15 years to embark on such a state visit.