Harambee One returns to presidential duty as Ruto flies to Tanzania for daughter’s wedding

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 6 – Kenya’s presidential jet, Harambee One, has returned to presidential duty, making its first tracked presidential flight since completing an extensive maintenance programme in the Netherlands, as President William Ruto travelled to Mwanza, Tanzania, for a private family visit. Flight-tracking data showed the Kenya Air Force Fokker 70, registration KAF308, operating under the KENYA01 call sign on Thursday, November 5, on a route from Nairobi to Mwanza.

Mwanza Regional Commissioner, who received the President on arrival, shared images showing Ruto disembarking from the aircraft, providing visual confirmation that the refurbished jet was used for the trip. Ruto travelled to Mwanza alongside First Lady Rachel Ruto to attend the wedding of their daughter, Charlene, who exchanged vows with Isaya Yunge on Friday.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen was among the guests at the ceremony. Murkomen shared photographs from the occasion, congratulating the couple and wishing them “joy and a lifetime of happiness”. The flight marks a significant milestone for the aircraft, which had been out of the country since August 2025 for an extensive maintenance programme undertaken by Dutch aviation company Fokker Services Group.

Return to presidential duty Fokker Services Group announced in August that it had completed an extensive hangar visit for KAF308, describing the work as involving “deep maintenance, interior and system upgrades”. The programme included installation of the Gogo Galileo FDX inflight connectivity system, powered by Eutelsat OneWeb’s low-Earth-orbit satellite network.

The system uses an electronically steered antenna to provide high-speed internet connectivity while airborne, with reported download speeds of up to 195 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 32 Mbps. Fokker Services Group also praised the Kenya Air Force for maintaining the aircraft exceptionally well over its three decades of service, describing KAF308 as one of the last Fokker 70 aircraft built and delivered.

The jet had returned to Kenya and resumed operations following the overhaul, with flight-tracking records showing several domestic flights between Nairobi, Eldoret, Mombasa and Malindi. Those flights had largely operated under the FLOKI100 designation, rather than KENYA01, the call sign associated with presidential operations. Thursday’s flight to Mwanza therefore provides the clearest indication yet of the aircraft’s return to presidential service.

Year-long absence The Fokker 70, acquired by Kenya in 1995 and operated by the Kenya Air Force, had been undergoing maintenance in the Netherlands since August 2025. Its prolonged absence had raised questions about the future of the presidential fleet, particularly given the aircraft’s age and the shrinking global number of operational Fokker 70s. The grounding also coincided with increased use of chartered executive aircraft by Ruto for international engagements.

In June, the President travelled to South Africa aboard a privately chartered Boeing 737-800 BBJ2, registered T7-BBJ2 and operated by Dubai-based Empire Aviation Group, for a three-day state visit to Pretoria. He had also used chartered aircraft for other foreign engagements, including trips to the United States in 2024 and Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in May 2026.

The return of KAF308 to presidential operations reduces the immediate reliance on chartered aircraft, although the longer-term question of replacing the ageing jet remains unresolved. Neither State House nor the Ministry of Defence has publicly announced plans to replace the Fokker 70. The aircraft’s return to service, following extensive refurbishment and communications upgrades, gives Harambee One a new lease of life while leaving open questions about the future of Kenya’s presidential air transport fleet.