By Jael Jepkemoi
This post with 50.2K views shared on X (formerly Twitter) on May 20, 2026, claims NTV reported President Ruto spent 537 M after his trip. Painting the irony of spending half a billion to go and look for KSh. 1B. The post targets the foreign travel budget of President William Ruto following his recent trip to Baku.
The text of the post reads:
”NTV was reporting that Ruto might spend 537M after his trip, that is half a billion. Spending half a billion to go and look for 1B”
Background
The claim emerged following a period of public transport paralysis in Kenya. On May 14, 2026, a sharp price review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) set new domestic fuel prices, pushing super petrol to KSh 214.25 per litre and diesel to a record-breaking KSh 242.92 per litre.
On Monday, May 18, 2026, the Transport Sector Alliance, heavily backed by the Matatu Owners Association, commenced a strike that brought some towns and major highways to a standstill. Many citizens were left stranded, forcing many to walk for hours to reach their workplaces amid teargas confrontations and street protests.
President William Ruto officially jetted out of the country for the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 16 2026. This immediate split of the walking nation versus luxury international flight prompted major mainstream news like KTN to launch balanced, analytical investigations into the costs, operational frameworks, and asset classes associated with presidential travel.
Verification
To establish whether NTV reported these specific figures, a thorough audit of NTV Kenya’s broadcasts, news tickers, digital quote cards, and social media platforms from the active travel window was conducted. The findings were that NTV Kenya provided extensive coverage of the domestic transport challenges, administrative interventions, and Cabinet Secretaries’ statements regarding the fuel costs. However, at no point did NTV publish or broadcast a report stating that the specific trip expenditure totaled KSh 537 Million, nor did they state the mission was to find KSh 1 Billion. The specific values used in the social media post do not exist in NTV‘s editorial records.
The X user’s assertion that the trip cost half a billion stems from a literal misinterpretation of concurrent prime time headlines run by KTN news. KTN Prime news feature broadcast on May 20, 2026, carried the headline: “As Kenyans trekked to workplaces, President Ruto flew abroad using half a half-billion-shilling jet.” The phrase half a billion in that broadcast referred structurally to the multi-million dollar luxury asset class of the private aircraft itself, not the actual bill generated by the single trip.
Screen grab of the KTN News report.
Verdict
The claim that NTV reported President Ruto spent KSh 537 Million to secure KSh 1 Billion is FALSE.
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