Top presidential security officers removed after Ruto breach
A dramatic security breach involving President William Ruto during a public event in Kilifi County earlier today has triggered sweeping changes within the elite police units responsible for protecting the Head of State.
The reshuffle, announced hours after the shocking security lapse as directed by the Inspector General of the National Police Service (NPS) Douglas Kanja, the Deputy Inspector General of the Kenya Police Service (KPS) Eliud Lagat announced General Service Unit (GSU) Recce Commander William Sawe as the new Commandant of the Presidential Escort Unit (PEU) replacing Noah Kirwa Maiyo.
The changes came hours after a man broke through the president’s security cordon during a thanksgiving gathering in Ganze, briefly causing panic before security officers intervened.
Maiyo has been redeployed to the Kenya Police Headquarters Vigilance Unit.
The shake-up followed orders by police boss Kanja, who described the incident as a grave and unacceptable security lapse involving the President’s protection.
“I have immediately constituted a special investigations team to conduct a swift, thorough, and uncompromising inquiry into how this breach occurred,” Kanja said in a statement.
“I have also ordered immediate changes to the security detail responsible for the President’s protection in order to strengthen protocols and seal any existing vulnerabilities,” he added.
Other changes within the presidential security structure saw Juda Mathews Gwiyo, who had been serving as Deputy Commandant of the Presidential Escort Unit, proceed on leave pending retirement.
George Kirera was transferred from the position of Staffing Officer Personnel PEU to become the new Deputy Commandant of the Presidential Escort Unit, while Josphat Sirma was promoted from Deputy Commanding Officer of the Recce Sub Unit to Commanding Officer of the specialised tactical team.
Rere Kipkoech was also moved from Deputy SOB1 to the Kenya Police Headquarters Vigilance Unit.
The incident that triggered the reshuffle occurred during a thanksgiving event in Ganze, Kilifi County, where President Ruto was addressing residents.
In dramatic scenes captured on camera, a young man reportedly armed with a Bible emerged from the crowd and managed to grab the president before security officers swiftly restrained him and escorted him away from the stage.
The intrusion caused a brief moment of panic among members of the President’s security team and the crowd.
Despite the scare, Ruto urged officers not to mistreat the suspect.
“Leave that young man alone,” the President was heard saying as security personnel moved in.
The Head of State later attempted to calm the crowd with humour, joking that the man may have learnt from outspoken Kilifi politician Fikirini Jacobs “not to miss any opportunity.”
“I will deal with him later,” Ruto quipped, drawing laughter from sections of the audience.
Authorities had not established the motive behind the intrusion by Sunday evening, although Kanja insisted that any compromise involving presidential security would be treated with the utmost seriousness.
“The security of the Head of State is a matter of national security and will be treated with the utmost seriousness,” Kanja stated.
He also warned members of the public attending presidential functions to strictly adhere to security protocols, cautioning that any attempts to breach security arrangements would attract firm legal action.
President Ruto is protected by a highly specialised Presidential Escort Unit backed by General Service Unit officers, tactical Recce squads, local police commanders and intelligence personnel from the National Intelligence Service.
Security arrangements surrounding the President involve hundreds of officers drawn from elite police formations trained specifically for VIP protection and rapid response operations.
Today’s incident was not the first security scare involving the President.
In February this year, another man breached security during an event in Mombasa and ran towards Ruto during the disbursement of Sh147 million under the NYOTA youth empowerment programme at the Jomo Kenyatta Showground before being restrained by officers.
