CHUKA, Kenya — Kenya’s United Opposition has sharply criticized the government for asking citizens stranded in the Middle East to pay for their flights back home, arguing that the state has a duty to finance emergency repatriation.
Speaking during a political rally in Chuka on Friday, March 6, former Attorney-General Justin Muturi said the government should take responsibility for returning Kenyans caught up in the regional crisis.
Muturi claimed he had earlier warned William Ruto that the war involving Iran would have wider repercussions across the Middle East, potentially placing Kenyan workers in the region at risk.
“I told you that a responsible government would have dispatched five or ten rescue aeroplanes without charging its people,” Muturi said.
“The government is the major shareholder in Kenya Airways, so we should not hear reports of Kenyans dying because they have been asked to pay for their tickets back home,” he added.
Muturi further warned that the opposition would hold the president accountable if any Kenyan citizen lost their life while stranded abroad during the crisis.
The former attorney-general also criticized the government’s spending priorities, questioning the push for additional funding to the State House in Nairobi while citizens abroad struggle to return home.
“Ruto’s State House budget was Sh7.7 billion, yet he is asking for an additional Sh8.4 billion. Why don’t you use Sh2 billion to bring Kenyans stranded in the Middle East back home?” Muturi posed.
His remarks followed a statement by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi indicating that Kenyans seeking to leave the Middle East would be required to cover their own repatriation costs.
Mudavadi said more than 500,000 Kenyans currently live and work across the Middle East, but clarified that no Kenyan had been injured or killed in the ongoing conflict.
The announcement has triggered strong reactions online, with some Kenyans questioning why the government would not fund the repatriation effort despite spending billions of shillings on state operations.
Some social media users also pointed to reports that several airports in the United Arab Emirates had temporarily halted operations, complicating travel arrangements for those seeking to leave the region.
Meanwhile, Kenya Airways said it had begun planning special flights to assist Kenyans stranded in the Middle East, although the airline recently suspended a repatriation flight to Dubai following a security advisory from airport authorities.
