President William Ruto with other leaders at Majengo Market in Mombasa on May 25, 2026.
President William Ruto’s security detail was to be reshuffled in February after internal investigations revealed lapses in the Presidential Escort Unit (PEU).
Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja announced at the time that the National Police Service (NPS) had constituted a team to investigate lapses that saw a man breach the security cordon and get to the presidential dias in Wajir.
The man was tackled just metres from the President.
“The NPS wishes to state that at no time was the safety of... the President, other dignitaries or the public compromised. The presidential security team and other officers on the ground acted with professionalism and speed to de-escalate the situation,” Mr Kanja said hours after the incident.
A screengrab of a video of the moment a security officer tackled a man (in black) who stormed the podium and interrupted President William Ruto mid-speech.
The President is the most guarded government official, with close to 500 police officers watching over him and his family.
The investigation audit recommended, among other things, an overhaul of the security team and the transfer of officers who had been there for a long time.
Multiple sources told the Daily Nation that Mr Kanja constituted a team comprising top officers from the GSU headquarters and Jogoo House to look into the problems in the PEU.
After the investigation, the NPS made piecemeal changes to the unit. Three months after recommendations for overhaul, Mr Kanja announced sweeping changes to the unit on Sunday after another security breach in Kilifi County. A man broke the security cordon and reached the President at a church service in Bamba.
It was only after the man had reached the President that the security officers intervened.
Mr Noah Maiyo, the PEU Commandant, has been redeployed to the Police Headquarters at Vigilance House, Nairobi.
His position was given to Mr William Sawe, who was the commanding officer of the Recce squad of the General Service Unit.
Mr Juda Matthews Gwiyo, who deputised Mr Maiyo, has proceeded on terminal leave ahead of his retirement.
Mr George Kirera, who served as the staffing officer at the PEU, is the new Deputy Commanding Officer of the President’s security detail.
The changes extend to the Recce Squad, where Mr Josephat Sirma is now the Commanding Officer, taking over from Mr Sawe.
Hours before the changes, Mr Kanja had ordered investigations into the security breach.
“I have ordered immediate changes to the security detail responsible for the President’s protection in order to strengthen protocols and seal vulnerabilities,” the police boss said.
State House, State Lodges, the President’s private residences and those of his immediate family have 24-hour government security.
President William Ruto with other leaders at Majengo Market in Mombasa on May 25, 2026.
When the President moves, the head of the PEU coordinates the security detail.
The PEU communicates the President's itinerary only to top police chiefs such as regional commanders, the IG, the Deputy IGs, GSU boss and Recce unit head.
Once regional security chiefs are briefed, they share the information with their juniors in the county, who mobilise officers to provide security at the events.
Before the President travels, a team comprising Recce and National Intelligence Service officers arrives in the region first. They assess the security situation and inform the head of the PEU.
During the visit, elite officers in plain clothes and uniform are deployed to strategic points to watch over the President. Local police officers control the crowds.
According to a source familiar with the security details, there are about four rings of officers shielding the President at any given moment.
The outer cordon is made up of uniformed officers, while the second and third layers form a circle around the President. The inner layer that shields the President is drawn from the Recce Unit.
Layers of security
These officers in civilian attire are heavily armed and evacuate the President in the event of a security breach. They also deal with the threat.
A top police chief told the Daily Nation that the focal point of the investigation ordered by Mr Kanja was how an intruder beat the layers of security and got to the President.
Meanwhile, Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has blamed Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen for the lapses in President Ruto’s security detail.
Mr Gachagua said the safety of the country depends on the security of the President and should be taken seriously.
“In other jurisdictions, the Interior CS and the police chief would have resigned. The President’s security is exposed. He has no security around him,” Mr Gachagua said.
“Are Kenyans safe? How can Mr Murkomen guarantee the safety of ordinary Kenyans if he cannot guarantee the security of his appointing authority? The man who gave him the job is not safe.”
Security was heightened as President William Ruto launched the construction of a modern market at Majengo in Mombasa on May 25, 2026.
Mr Gachagua added that security agencies in the country are in dire need of a shake-up.
He demanded to know why Mr Murkomen is still a minister despite the repeated lapses in security, “which could have caused panic in the country if the invaders were armed”.
“Where is the President’s aide-de-camp? He is expected to be with the President and escort him whenever he goes, including the toilet,” Mr Gachagua said on Monday.
“Why would a stranger accost the President and everybody runs helter-skelter? What if the man had a knife? If he could hold his neck, and almost twist it, he could have stabbed him. What if he was a suicide bomber?”
Mr Gachagua also demanded the inclusion of “people from other communities” in guarding the President.
“Nearly all officers are from the President’s community. Security officers from other communities are demoralised as they are not given an opportunity to escort the President,” he said.
President William Ruto arrives for the laying of a foundation stone of a Sh70 million modern market in Mkuluni in Ganze Constituency, Kilifi County on May 23, 2026.
“Escorting the President comes with privileges and allowances.”
According to the DCP leader, this has given the people surrounding the President “a sense of entitlement”.
“President Ruto is staring at a disaster and this country cannot have Mr Murkomen as Interior Cabinet Secretary ahead of the General Election in 2027. Instead of thinking how the President should be guarded, instead of guarding our borders, he is sponsoring goons in Mt Kenya to wreak havoc.”
DCP also announced the appointment of Nyandarua Senator John Methu as the party secretary general, a position previously held by Mr Hezron Obaga.
The senator has been charged with managing the by-election in Ol Kalou, where DCP anticipates bagging its first parliamentary seat after failing in the past mini-polls.
Additional reporting by Kevin Cheruiyot
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