Kenyan presidents, starting from Late founding father Jomo Kenyatta, had a love and an eye for egg-shell cars to admire.
From expensive Mercedes, to vintage and golden old cars, here is a list of cars Kenyan presidents fancied most!
1) Kenya’s first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta
He presided over the first Madaraka Day celebrations in 1963, riding a Lincoln Continental.
The rare and expensive convertible car was valued at over Ksh16 million at independence. The US government gifted Mzee the Lincoln Continental.
Kenyatta was also gifted a Mercedes Benz 300SE by the German government, which he adopted as his official ride after establishing that Rolls Royce was not armored and therefore unsafe for him.
2) Daniel Arap Moi
The second president Daniel Arap Moi rode a Mercedes 600, which was manufactured between 1963 to 1981.
Mercedes 600 was an armoured car fully fitted with unique features to match the preferences of the late president.
3) Mwai Kibaki
The third president Mwai Kibaki rode in a Kibaki Mercedes Benz S600.
4) Uhuru Kenyatta
The fourth president Uhuru Kenyatta rode in a Mercedes Benz S600 Pullman. The German machine stood out for its ballistic protection level, which is owned by other world leaders, including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The car had special features that would withstand rocket-propelled grenades. This is enabled by a polycarbonate coating fitted inside the windows that repel bullets at close range.
Uhuru’s Mercedes Benz S600 Pullman Guard also had a twin-turbocharged V12 engine with 530 brake horsepower.
The car’s tyre was also fitted with steel rings to prevent it from slipping off in case of a flat tyre incident.
5) William Ruto
The fifth president William Ruto rides in an armoured Lexus LX570 worth Kshs. 20,000,000/= . It’s features include a sunroof, keyless entry and ignition, a power liftgate, front and rear parking sensors, and a 360-degree surround-view parking camera system.
The car also can tackle remote and rugged terrains in luxury.
NOTE : All cars used by the Head of State and his family are armored and specially designed to keep bullets and explosives away.
