Ruto, wife Rachel not denied visas to Israel – embassy

The Israeli government has dismissed reports in a local publication that its embassy in Nairobi denied Deputy President William Ruto and his wife, Rachel, visas.

In a statement on Wednesday, Israeli ambassador Noah Gal Gendler said Ruto and Rachel hold diplomatic passports and do not require visas to travel to Israel.

“The warm friendship of Kenya and Israel has enabled both the governments to exempt visas for diplomatic passport holders and therefore H E Deputy President Ruto and his wife do not require visas to travel to Israel,” Gendler said.

“The Embassy of Israel feels aggrieved by the false story which is baseless and without a doubt irresponsible for any news channel, even one that wants to remain relevant.”

The ambassador was reacting to a story carried by Kenyalivenews.com on Monday.

He asked the online publication to apologise to Kenya, Israel and the embassy for the story.

Gendler did not, however, comment on claims by the same site that the Israeli government had withdrawn funding from the Galana Kulalu irrigation project due to graft at the National Irrigation Board.

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