Foreign heads of state who are used to long motorcades were ordered to give up their official cars and instead share transport with fellow leaders to attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. According to Politico, the leaders were bussed from a site in west London to Westminster Abbey.
Social media platforms became a hotbed of memes when a photo of newly elected Kenyan President William Ruto and his Tanzanian counterpart looked out of place in a bus as they headed to the funeral. African leaders who are known to be accompanied by unnecessary entourage were reminded to keep their delegations small.
“…..regrets that, because of limited space at the state funeral service and associated events, no other members of the principal guest’s family, staff or entourage may be admitted”, politico reported.
Here are the African heads of state who got the bus ride:
Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa
Macky Sall, President of Senegal
Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria
Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana
William Ruto, President of Kenya
Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda
Ali Bongo, President of Gabon
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s military leader
Christophe Mboso N’kodia, National Assembly president, Democratic Republic of Congo
Leaders exempted from using buses
Leaders who were exempted from the bus ride because of security reasons were Joe Biden, France Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Emperor Naruhito. Guardian reported that German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italian president Sergio Matarella, Canada’s Justin Trudeau and Israel’s Isaac Herzog may also be exempted.