Kenya’s President William Ruto says he would be out of his mind to spend the country’s limited hiring a luxury private jet to travel to the United States on a state visit with his 30-member strong entourage.

Last week, Mr Ruto was accused of spending $1.5 million to hire a Boeing 737-700 VIP private jet to fly to the United States.

Mr Ruto revealed that the private jet only cost 10 million shillings.

“I must lead from the front as I tell others to tighten their belts. Mine must be where it begins. So relax, and the debate must end,” said Mr Ruto.

According to him, some friends of Kenya helped him to hire a private jet at a low price.

Responding to criticisms about his extravagant spending, Mr Ruto, at a National Prayer Breakfast event in Nairobi on Thursday, stated that there was “no way” he could have spent that amount on the jet, saying, “I am not a madman.”

Mr Ruto explained that he was told the cheapest plane cost about $530,000, and he instructed his office to book Kenya Airways for himself and his retinue.

“We have built a big reputation as a country and we have built friends. I said I was not ready to pay more than ($153 million). They said bring ($73,000), we’ll give you the plane,” the Kenyan president explained.