As the family of former President Daniel arap Moi marked his third death anniversary at Kabarak today, the once powerful family found itself without tight security.
For more than 50 years, the former president’s palatial home and expansive farm have been guarded by the General Service Unit officers.
However, this time round, the family is finding itself in a very unfamiliar security situation after the number of officers guarding the former president’s home and Kabarak University was scaled down to only four on Friday.
The late Mzee Moi served as Kenya’s Vice President for 12 years before serving as Head of State for 24 years. He died on February 4, 2020.
“The family has always had tight security from the State but today, only four officers have been left to guard the tomb where Mzee Moi’s body lies,” said a source at the Kabarak home.
“The officers have been left to guard the magnificent tomb of Mzee Moi because it is part of a national heritage,” added the source.
“The family will now be forced to dig deep into their pockets to hire private guards to watch over its expansive property including the Kabarak Airstrip,” he added.
The GSU officers that were permanently stationed at strategic positions around the farm, including the entrance to Kabarak University and Moi High School Kabarak, have been recalled.
When Nation.Africa contacted the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome to enquire why the security detail at Kabarak farm had been scaled down and how many have been redeployed, he neither answered our calls nor text message.
However, there is no provision in the Constitution for police officers to guard the property of a former President who dies after retirement.
“It is only the incumbent who can authorise such security arrangements,” said a source.
On Saturday, GSU officers were conspicuously absent during the former president’s third death anniversary. Only private security guards were around.
The security guards said they had firm instructions not to allow the Nation.Africa team to access the farm.
“We have been told that you will be given the footage of the memorial service from the KTN crew covering the function,” said a guard at the gate.
When reached for comments, Kanu chairman Gideon Moi spokesperson Alex Kiprotich did not respond to our telephone calls nor did he answer our text message.
